Illinois is now the sixth state to recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. Another five states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage.Gov. Pat Quinn signed Illinois' sweeping new legal protections Monday afternoon before a jubilant standing-room crowd.
"We believe in civil rights, and we believe in civil unions," Quinn said. "We believe in liberty and justice for all."
The law takes effect June 1 and allows gays and lesbians to use civil unions as a way to get many of the same rights given to heterosexual couples when they marry. It also applies to opposite-sex couples to signify a commitment short of marriage.
Protections include sharing a nursing home room, visiting a loved one in a hospital and preventing those in a civil union from testifying against each other in court. Couples who enter into civil unions also will be able to make funeral and end-of-life decisions, inherit property and get certain employment-related benefits such as insurance.
Read the rest at the Trib.
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