CT Okays Same Sex Civil Unions

I have made no secret that I live in CT, so it may have surprised some that I have waited to post on the news that Connecticut has passed a law okaying Civil Unions. My conservative friends may have been waiting for me to decry it. My liberal friends may have been waiting for me to embrace it. But this is why this Blog is called MOD-blog. I have to say that I am really going down the center on this one.

On the one hand, I am not in any way for same-sex marriage. Marriage - in my opinion - is about the formation of a family for the betterment of society and the raising of children. It should be something restricted to a man and a woman, based on both the societal function and the religious tradition. And I do not believe that same-sex couples should be placed on the same level as traditional couples.

On the other hand, after 9/11, it was brought home to me the fact that there are some "rights" that our society has attached to marriage that are appropriate to extend to same-sex couples. Especially such things as inheritance rights and next-of-kin rights. There were a number of stories after 9/11 of same-sex couples who were denied information on their partners's health state or even whether they were dead or alive, because there was no legal right. Likewise, some were left in poverty because there were no inheritance rights for them, and the partner had been their sole provider.

Now, civil unions is not my preferred method of accomodating these rights. In my opinion, these rights can be accomplished thru existing legal means - power of attorney and the like. But I am willing to accept this as a middle ground between where we are today and making Same Sex Marriage the same as traditional Marriage.