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Argument: Civil unions are not "separate, but unequal" if heterosexuals can do it
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Parent debate
Supporting quotations
Steve Swayne. "The Case for Federal Civil Unions." Independent Gay Forum. February 28, 2004: "And one more suggestion: To avoid charges of separate but unequal, make civil unions open to straight couples."
Edward Cody. "Straight Couples in France Are Choosing Civil Unions Meant for Gays". Washington Post. February 14th, 2009: "The PACS [French acronym for the civil union law] broadened into an increasingly popular third option for heterosexual couples, who readily cite its appeal: It has the air of social independence associated with the time-honored arrangement that the French call the “free union” but with major financial and other advantages. It is also far easier to get out of than marriage. [...] The number of PACS celebrated in France, both gay and heterosexual unions, has grown from 6,000 in its first year of operation in 1999 to more than 140,000 in 2008, according to official statistics. For every two marriages in France, a PACS is celebrated, the statistics show, making a total of half a million PACSed couples, and the number is rising steadily. [...] Perhaps more important as an indication of how French people live, the number of heterosexual men and women entering into a PACS agreement has grown from 42 percent of the total initially to 92 percent last year."
