153. GregGS: I linked to a wikipedia article upthread that has a rundown of the differences in CA. Here are a few other references, but please bear in mind that what I consider to be the most severe of them–that same-sex civil unions are not recognized by the federal government nor by (in most cases) states other than the one they were performed in–are not really disputed. These disparities can have profound impacts for bound couples in terms of tax burden, ability to relocate, adoption rights, parental rights in court, and a long list of other matters. If you consider every federal and state law that accounts, somehow, for marital status, subtracting those few where same-sex marriages or near-equivalent civil unions are allowed, you’ll find that the net is a great deal if inequality indeed.
http://www.factcheck.org/what_is_a_civil_union.html
http://www.legal-database.com/civil-union-marriage.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922609.html
Bear in mind, too, that domestic partnerships are a somewhat different breed; they typically allow unmarried, cohabitating couples (gay or straight) to be eligible for insurance and certain other benefits (though these are often subject to additional federal taxation that married couples would not face, as the federal government does not recognize domestic partnerships). Most importantly, there is no recognition of domestic partnership as a bond between two loving adults; there’s no sense of the contract married or unioned couples enter into.
