Washington State Approves Same-Sex Civil Unions

Washington state's Referendum 71 was approved by the voters, confirming the right for gay couples to have civil unions that, in most respects are equal to marriage.

Basically, the referendum removes God and religion from the process, and thus substitutes a contract for vows and lawyers for clergy.

Those opposed to marriage equality, and here, also to civil unions, thus opposed to 71 were generally "unable to formulate a cogent argument that either has any negative effect on traditional marriage. In Washington, the anti-gay argument is simple; these civil unions are just like marriage and voters do not favor gay marriage. In other words, they are using a religious argument to oppose unions that have no religious connotations," as reported by Tips-Q.