Keith, the idea of "Civil Partnership" sounds good in theory, but time has shown that it hasn't worked very well. In every country, there is a whole body of case law that has developed to handle the problems of marriage.

"Civil Partnership" requires everything to start over again from Square One, or else there must be legislation to cover every minor point that has already been developed through case law. Far better to legally define civil partnership as "marriage" (no matter what the Bible says). It's my understanding that if we simply define homosexual partnerships as marriage, we don't have to work through the whole process all over again and develop a separate system of decisions for gay partnerships.

Legislation applies only to a certain point, and then questions unanswered by legislation must be tried and decided in court. Why not just simplify things and declare gay marriage to be the same as heterosexual marriage? I suppose that governments could pass legislation declaring civil partnership to be the same as marriage, but why not give the couples what they want and call it marriage?

-Joe-