Recognize civil unions

The “Puritan State” may soon have to decide whether or not to recognize homosexual relationships as legal unions. Seven couples, sponsored by the group that sued for civil unions in Vermont, filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Bay State’s ban on same-sex marriages. The group wants the state to grant same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples have in marriage, such as shared health benefits and tax reductions.

With the controversy surrounding this issue, the litigants have already met with opposition in the State House. In fact, even before taking office Tuesday, Gov. Jane Swift went so far as to promise she would refuse to sign any bill legalizing civil unions, telling the Boston Herald that marriage is “an important institution in our commonwealth in our country and should be for heterosexual couples.” However, she said she supports employment-related benefits for gay domestic partners.

Regardless of whether the government agrees with the moral implications of civil unions, it has no right to limit the legal rights of homosexual couples. Our country was based on the ideas of freedom of religion and ideas, and legislators should not try to impose their religious-based beliefs on their constituents.

Furthermore, some cities seem ready to accept civil unions. Cambridge already legally recognizes domestic partnerships for city employees by providing them with legal benefits.

What many lawmakers tend to forget is that the children raised in these homosexual couples stand to suffer the most. Without basic guaranteed security, gay couples with children cannot provide the kind of protection for them as heterosexual couples.

The civil unions issue is more about rights than relationships, and the state should move to grant all citizens with equal rights under the law, regardless of their sexual orientation.