Facebook Recognizes Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships
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Facebook has created a new relationship status option that allows same-sex couples to declare they are "in a domestic partnership" or "in a civil union."
Up until now, Facebook limited the relationship status options including single, in a relationship, married, and it's complicated. But a Facebook spokesman said today that users have been requesting options for them to recognize their civil unions or domestic partnerships.
Gays and lesbians said the new status option signals clear support for gay and lesbian couples.
"When millions of Facebook users see these relationship status options, they gain a greater understanding of the legal inequalities faced by loving and committed same-sex couples in so many states today," Jarrett Barrios, president the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said today in new reports.
"Facebook's noteworthy move also highlights the vast majority of same-sex couples living in states where there are no legal protections whatsoever," Barrios added.
It also probably makes good business sense not to alienate 10 percent of the U.S. population.
The new designations are limited to the U.S., Canada, U.K, France, and Australia. The countries that criminalize homosexuality, including the Middle East and Africa, will not see these options.
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