Civil Unions Recognized On Facebook

Facebook has finally caught up with the rest of the world by allowing “civil union” and “domestic partnership” to be a person’s relationship status.

These are legal terms used to describe certain marriage-like contracts that are not actually “marriage”. In most of the world civil unions are reserved for same-sex couples, but in places like France, anyone can get them. In fact, heterosexual couples account for 90% of civil unions in France.

In the UK equal rights groups are now fighting for the same rights so that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, will be able to have either a marriage or a civil partnership. This campaign is still in process, but I hope they are successful as it should be a couple who defines their own relationship, not the courts.

These options were added to Facebook after consultations with equal rights advocacy groups and are a great step forward in creating equality and recognition for all types of partnerships. Next step: adding more than one person to the relationship options for those in open or polyamorous groups.

Contact the author here: mack@morningquickie.com