Civil unions legal
The week's news at a glance.
Hartford, Conn.
Connecticut this week became the first state to license gay civil unions without being forced by a judge. The law—approved in April and enacted over the weekend—grants homosexual partners the same rights as married couples, a step Massachusetts and Vermont took because of lawsuits. The Family Institute of Connecticut, a conservative group, said it was “tragic” that the state was saying that “children don’t need both a mom and a dad.” But Randy Sharp, who got a license with his partner, Jeff Blanchette, said the law marked a “historic” step forward. The applications are identical to those for marriage licenses, except “bride” and “groom” are replaced with “party 1” and “party 2.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
'HBCUs have always had to think more strategically'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day