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Gays and Lesbians should be allowed civil unions rather than marriage. I take a different approach to this entire question not because Gays and Lesbians are different human beings, but because we need to recognize reality for a segment of our worlds population.

Gays and Lesbians have been slaughtered, maimed, marked by society, harassed and bedeviled for most of recorded time. The individuals involved frequently moved to other geographical areas to start over again, because of these negative factors. However, the perspective of the average person changes all the time. On this subject, we are finally beginning to see the rise of a new day - a day in which these people can live among the general society peacefully.

The "Civil Union" is the most recent development of finally recognizing these people were just like themselves 99% of the time. What remained that was different did not matter or amount to anything. This new attitude is not universal in all segments of our world, but is slowly seeping out of Europe and the United States to other areas.

If 100 years ago they were not tolerated at all, today they are still not 100% tolerated, but the number of people who will allow gays and lesbians in their presence is improving quite a bit. If they lived together prior to "Civil Unions" the neighbors usually left them alone if there were no issues brought to the surface involving sex, or related topics. Since "Civil Unions" are on their way to legal approval across our country, widespread societal approval appears to be just a step or two behind.

Any discussion of the need for legal protection of estates, inheritance issues and other very important legal issues needs to follow the trend of allowing Civil Unions" to exist legally and in society. While these other legal issues are very important to the individuals involved, they pale as compared to the importance of getting a large segment of the population to be more tolerant of this life style.

Down the road a few years when Civil Unions are built into the societal demeanor and not a novel subject for discussion in forums like this, we shall probably see gays and lesbians move toward style more similar to the mainstream marriage. But for the present, we should all live together with less animosity towards gays and lesbians. If the United States and most European nations can take a positive stand for "Civil Unions" this approval by a third of the worlds population will slowly makes it way into other societies.

Learn more about this author, Fred Tolleson.
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