fscked.co.uk

How meaningful are California’s same-sex civil partnerships?

(If you didn’t know: background)

I understood that the California Supreme Court’s decision today to not overturn Proposition 8 continues to mean that same-sex marriages are banned in California, but I hadn’t realised that there is a civil union that is the state-sanctioned way for same-sex couples to commit to each other. What is the legal difference between this and marriage?

Wikipedia talks about federal rights applicable to married couples that don’t apply to these partnerships, but doesn’t say what they might be. I’m trying to understand to what degree same-sex couples have less rights and to what degree this argument is a point of principle (which is still important, don’t get me wrong).

Here in the UK, same sex couples aren’t legally allowed to get married but can undergo a civil partnership that is legally identical to marriage, which seemed to be welcomed as substantial progress towards equality when it became law. I must admit I am unclear on the difference between the two, because I think you can have the full wedding ceremony in a (non-religious) registry office if you choose to.