Domestic partnership

A domestic partnership is a legally recognized union, similiar to same sex marriage. Opponts of same sex marriage say it is essentially the same thing. Proponents argue that couples in a domestic partnership miss many of the benifits of legal marriage, and are being forced into a 'seperate but equal' status, much like blacks before the civil rights era. As of 2007, the states of California, Maine, New Jersey, Washington, and Oregon offer domestic partnership status, as does Washington, D.C.. Several other countries and cities offer partnerships as well.