Giuliani plays the "states' rights" car on civil unions

I don’t for a second think Rudy Giuiliani is the slightest bit homophobic – as much of the world now knows, he stayed at the apartment of gay friends after his second marriage went South – but he is a politician running for office (the highest one!) and I was disappointed to read his recent parsing of the new civil unions legislation in New Hampshire (which I support):

“Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman. Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly,” the Giuliani campaign said in a written response to a question from the Sun. “In this specific case the law states same sex civil unions are the equivalent of marriage and recognizes same sex unions from outside states. This goes too far and Mayor Giuliani does not support it.”

It has always struck me that states’ rights is a game that people play when they want to. I admit to finding the concept attractive in a nostalgic way, but in the modern world of virtual communication it does seem strange that the same laws don’t apply in Los Angeles and Dallas. When job migration is a constant of our lives, it makes no sense that domestic partnership laws are not national. In fact, it asks for trouble.