civil unions

Cynthia Wade's moving 38-minute documentary film - Freeheld - chronicling New Jersey Police Lieutenant Laurel Hester's landmark legal battle to transfer her pension to her domestic partner has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short Subject category.

The film was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and picked up eleven additional awards at film festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle and Denver.

The Associated Press reports there was just one protester at the Statehouse as dozens of gay and lesbian couples entered into civil unions in New Hampshire in the early minutes of New Year's Day. A new state law legalized the partnerships after midnight.

In a related story, Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the new law:

Bill McConkey wants to play fair in the fight for marriage equality in Wisconsin. He's also a straight, married, Christian - with a lesbian daughter.

McConkey is trying to prove that wording of the constitutional amendment, as it was submitted to Wisconsin voters, violated Article 12 Section I of the Wisconsin Constitution.

ABC News is reporting that 55 percent of U.S. voters favor allowing same sex couples to form legally recognized civil unions - providing the same rights as heterosexual married couples in health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage.

This is an increase from 45 percent in an ABC/Washington Post poll in 2006. The previous high was 51 percent in 2004.

All leading Democratic presidential candidates support civil unions - and Rudy Giuliani is the only Republican candidate to side with the idea.

A religious legal group presented oral arguments for Lisa Miller (r) against Janet Jenkins (l) in a groundbreaking custody case involving Vermont civil unions.

The Journal of Modern History offers historical evidence, including documents and gravesites, suggesting that civil unions between gay men may have existed there six centuries ago, and known as affrèrements (which translates to brotherment).

The effects of entering into an affrèrement were extensive and legitimized the couple as a union of two agreeable people. The documents closely resemble modern marriage contracts.

Allan Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania says:

A revealing and biting piece written by the CEO of Garden State Equality sheds light on civil union legislation in New Jersey - and how it effects companies like UPS.

CEO Steven Goldstein goes back to the planning stages of the bill in his NJ.com blog.