The Role Of Civil Unions In The Journey Toward Marriage Equality

Davesh Rawat, Royal College of Law

ABSTRACT

Civil unions were a legal framework pioneered in Denmark in 1989 to grant same-sex couples many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage, though not full marriage equality. The concept spread to several European countries and U.S. states like Vermont, which became the first to legally recognize civil unions in 2000. Civil unions represented an important milestone by providing legal protections previously only afforded to married heterosexual couples.

However, civil unions stopped short of conferring full federal marriage rights. They served as a "separate but equal" policy compromise, granting some relationship recognition but sustaining discriminatory unequal status. Key court cases like Baker v. State of Vermont1 and Lewis v. Harris2 helped drive civil union laws but also exposed their limitations compared to marriage.

Within the LGBTQ rights movement, civil unions sparked debate over whether to embrace incremental progress or insist on fighting for unconditional marriage equality. While providing tangible benefits, civil unions' systemic inequalities fueled urgency that only identical marital rights could achieve true equality. Their consequences of partial protections yet sustained discrimination laid groundwork for later overturning marriage bans.

Ultimately, civil unions proved an imperfect stepping stone, valuable for granting initial legal recognitions but illuminating marriage as the final objective. Their unequal compromises mobilized advocates, revealed ethical failures of discriminatory institutions, and compelled achieving full nationwide marital equality.