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David Charns/MEDILL
Civil unions in Illinois aren't just for same-sex couples.
Civil unions not limited to same-sex couples
by David Charns
Feb 09, 2011
Benefits to be offered with an Illinois civil union
• Hospital visitation rights• Right to take leave to care for a sick partner
• Ability to make medical decisions in an emergency
• Privilege from testifying against partner in court
• Right to joint parenting, adoption, foster care, and visitation of children
• Right to file wrongful death claims for a partner's death
• Right to a dissolve union, court division of property, and visitation of children in times of break up
—Equality Illinois
Opposite-sex civil unions and Facebook
Jarret Wolfman started the “Ban Straight Marriage” page on Facebook.
“If the government isn't going to get out of the straight-marriage business, then they need to extend marriage to include gays, lesbians and transgenders, Wolfman said.
“You can't have laws that regulate something that can mean different things to different people,” he said. “The big argument that traditional marriage has always been between a man and a woman is ridiculous. Just because something is a tradition doesn't make it right.”
Wolfman said he does not know of any straight-couples who are seeking a civil union, but said a couple might want a civil union rather than traditional marriage to make a political statement.
Leila Flagg started the group “Civil Unions for Straight Couples.” She said she wants marital laws to be “homophilic, not homophobic."
Flagg said she believes marriage is a religious-based union, and said civil unions are secular, and may appeal to same-sex couples who are not a part of any organized religion.
“I am currently engaged to marry my fiance,” she said. “We are both atheists. We could pursue a domestic partnership, but there are better tax, insurance, and general social benefits of getting married.”
While the act falls short of the word “marriage,” it calls for most of the same benefits the state already offers to married opposite-sex couples.
An Illinois statue bans same-sex marriage, as does the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who co-sponsored the bill in the Illinois General Assembly, said he made a point to include all couples in a bill calling for equality.
“How could I, as a person who happens to be gay, say we want to be protected from discrimination, and introduce a law that would exclude straight people,” Harris said.
Because opposite-sex couples are included in the civil union bill, those couples may have an advantage over those who would marry, Harris said.
There are federal tax consequences to civil unions that opposite-sex couples may want to consider, he said. A straight couple that registers their civil union in Illinois, could avoid paying the so-called “federal marriage tax penalty.”
Other benefits for couples who register for a civil union include: “automatic hospital visitation rights and the ability to make emergency medical decisions for partners; ability to share a room in a nursing home; adoption and parental rights; pension benefits; inheritance rights; and the right to dispose of a partner’s remains,” according to the Governor’s Office,
The bill also gives an opportunity to senior citizens.
Harris gave a hypothetical example where an older woman’s husband dies. She meets another man and, rather than getting married, decides to get a civil union.
“If they were to get remarried, under federal law, [she] would lose [her] pension or Social Security survivor benefits,” Harris said. “Because the federal government won’t recognize civil unions, this is like the best of both worlds.”
A clause in the law allows for religious institutions to deny civil unions, whether between members of the same or opposite sex.
“The [Catholic] Church does not acknowledge same-sex marriage or a same-sex civil union,” said Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.
“We wouldn’t be performing a rite of opposite-sex civil unions in our churches,” he said.
There is still work to be done, said Bernard Cherkasov, the chief executive officer for Equality Illinois.
“The lawmakers have intended for civil unions to provide all the benefits and protections of marriage … however [they] are only able to impact state law,” Cherkasov said.
“When Illinois couples leave the boundaries of Illinois, even if it’s just for vacation, they immediately lose all those protections. That’s unacceptable, and we’ll continue fighting to broaden same-sex relations,” he said.
Equality Illinois encourages same-sex couples who are seeking equal rights under state law to get a civil union, rather than wait for marriage equality. Cherkasov said more than 600 benefits previously afforded to only married, opposite-sex couples will now also be available to couples, gay or straight, who get a civil union.
"People are looking for protections for their relationships,” he said. “You don’t want to wait until marriage equality is fully realized under the law.”
Illinois is not the first state to approve civil unions. Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Vermont have all passed similar legislation. Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont have since passed same-sex marriage laws.
The District of Columbia, Iowa and Massachusetts also have same-sex marriage.
Domestic partnerships, which connote a lesser status and tend to generally offer fewer rights than civil unions, are offered in Maine, Nevada and Washington. Washington's domestic partnership law provides the same benefits as opposite-sex marriage. A handful of local governments across the country, including Cook County, also have their own domestic partnership registries for same-sex couples, though the benefits offered are few.
Same- and opposite-sex couples will be able to apply for a civil union certificate under the new law beginning June 1.
“We are going to follow the implementations of civil unions to make sure they provide the benefits and protections that same-sex couples intended to receive,” Cherkasov said. “If that doesn’t work out, then we’ll go back to the lawmakers with a clear assessment.”
Equality Illinois is also working with county officials across the state to make sure requirements and provisions are met so that couples can apply in person on June 1.
