Definition: Domestic partnerships are legal contracts between partners that are recognized by a city, state, government, or business as conferring some of the rights conferred by marriage, but without the implicit historical and religious meaning associated with the word "marriage."
The term was once used to refer to policies that grant only specific benefits--a health insurance company might have a domestic partnerships policy that allows clients to cover same-sex partners as if they were legal spouses, or a city domestic partnerships ordinance might guarantee hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples--but with the expansion of California's domestic partnerships policy to cover the same legal rights associated with civil unions, the terms "civil union" and "domestic partnership" are often used interchangeably in a policy context.
The term was once used to refer to policies that grant only specific benefits--a health insurance company might have a domestic partnerships policy that allows clients to cover same-sex partners as if they were legal spouses, or a city domestic partnerships ordinance might guarantee hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples--but with the expansion of California's domestic partnerships policy to cover the same legal rights associated with civil unions, the terms "civil union" and "domestic partnership" are often used interchangeably in a policy context.
Also Known As: civil unions (when enacted as a government policy)
