  Time for civil unions -- at least  December 2, 2011 Delegate
John Doyle - Columnist , Shepherdstown Chronicle   A "civil
union" allows a couple some or all of the benefits of marriage
without the name. Some folks refer to it as "marriage light."
The bill I will introduce would, if passed, allow all of the
benefits of marriage, not just some of them. It would be similar
to the gay marriage law recently passed by the State of New
York. That law allows gay "marriage," but permits any
organization who opposes gay marriage on religious grounds to
refuse to recognize the union of a couple under that law.  Hey,
I concede we're already into semantics here. But in passing
legislation semantics make the world 'go round. And speaking of
semantics, I hope you won't mind me using, in the interest of
efficiency, the term "gay" in the rest of this column to mean
everyone who would be interested in a same-sex marriage.  I'm
personally OK with allowing same-sex couples to legally marry
and use that term. For several years