Saturday, February 14, 2009

Unintended Consequences

As reported in today's Washington Post, in Catholic France, there's increasing recognition that it is a social "good" to provide a legal structure in addition to traditional marriage that helps stabilize relationships and provide financial security. Offered grudgingly as a "less than marriage" alternative for GLBT people, civil unions are fast becoming the first choice of straight couples who want legal recognition for their union but are not ready for traditional marriage. Interesting ...

And, the irony is that this "redefinition of family" for straight French people came about largely because conservatives refused to open traditional marriage to GLBT people, as has been done in other countries in Europe, or to give GLBT people legal "status" by creating civil unions only for them.

Funny thing about those unintended consequences.

1 comment:

Claire Gastanaga said...

Thanks for visiting. I hope to deserve your continued readership.
Claire