The brouhaha over gay marriage isn't limited to the U.S.; France is now wrestling with a prime example of the Law of Unintended Consequences: Straight Couples Use French Civil Unions Law Created For Homosexuals
There is at least some measure of equality in the situation. What's sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander. But it sounds so science-fictiony, practical in many respects, yet empty in so many others. And what about children? They will be your children forever, civil contract or no. What effect will it have on them? Are there any protections for them, in the new law?
I suppose marriage as a concept means different things to different people. My own family is tightly knit, with many examples of long, successful marriages - the lesson taught to me since childhood is when things get tough, you work harder, and you get through it. It's not something to be cleanly set aside when you stop having fun.
And yet, one of my siblings is now in the process of ending a marriage. The news came as a tremendous shockwave, leaving everyone stunned. Despite twenty years, two kids, and extended counseling, the relationship is ending. We seem to flutter about, helplessly, like trapped moths - there's nothing in our experience that has prepared us for this. All we can do is keep loving her, one another, and everyone involved. It's horrible. But I can't imagine them exchanging the past twenty years of marriage for a simple civil union contract.
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The full text:
Straight Couples Use French Civil Unions Law Created For Homosexuals
France resolved its debate over same-sex marriage several years ago by creating civil unions. But the law has had unexpected effects.
What began as a way to provide some legal protection for people in homosexual relationships has become a real alternative for heterosexual couples in France, thousands of whom come to municipal offices to sign "civil pacts of solidarity," or PACS, rather than get married.
Now We Have Rights
The ceremony itself takes just a few minutes. The couple goes to a court and assures the clerk they are not married to anyone else. After a few more basic questions, the papers are signed and the PACS is official.
"Now we have rights," a woman in a same-sex union says, "which we didn't have a few hours ago."
Under the civil pact, each partner is eligible for the other's work benefits. And after three years, they can get the same tax breaks as married couples. Ending the PACS can be as quick and easy as signing one.
"It is not necessary to divorce," says Daniel Borrillo, a legal specialist. "It is only necessary to inform the authorities that you decided to terminate the contract."
If there's a dispute, one party gives notice, and three months later, it's over.
The PACS law was hugely controversial when it was going through the French parliament in the late 1990s. Opponents of the law clashed with its supporters.
The law passed, but only after it was expanded to make heterosexuals eligible for civil unions as well. Otherwise, some argued, the law would be discriminatory.
It turned out to be a big change.
Marriage Attitudes
Some straight couples opting for the civil pact are older and have married before, but most are young couples.
In a country with a divorce rate of 38 percent, where some 40 percent of children are born out of wedlock, many consider marriage an obsolete institution.
"My parents got divorced," one woman says. "I don't regard marriage as sacred."
So, a law initially written for gay couples has evolved into a sort of marriage light for straight couples.
"It was the need of the gay community," says Pascal De Bodard of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Paris. "But at the end of the day, it was to the benefit of the whole French population."
The "cataloging" of individuals seems to be increasing. I can understand the need on the part of the businesses in this article (Pubs, Clubs Use High-Tech ID System to Track Troublemakers), but I strongly object to their retaining personal identity information such as birthdays. If the system works by identifying the face, then all it needs is the face. If the bar is going to go as far as requiring personal information, they might as well issue membership cards of their own in order for patrons to gain admission.
I assume they collect the birthdate in order to validate that the customer is of legal drinking age. But really, they don't need to retain that information. An underage patron can be flagged as underaged, with no mention of the actual birthday. When they reach legal age, they simply tell the doorman that they've had a birthday and show identification proving it; the system gets updated, and wha-la, they're granted entry to all businesses using it.
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The full text to which I'm objecting:
Pubs, Clubs Use High-Tech ID System to Track Troublemakers
Soon you may be asked for more than your identification when you go into a bar or nightclub. In Vancouver, Canada, you could also be asked to smile for a camera.
The Vigilance ID check system was developed by Vancouver's TreoScope Technologies. It works by taking your picture as your ID is swiped through a card reader. Your name, birth date, and diver's license number are transferred from the magnetic strip on the back of your card to a computer database where that info, along with your photo, are stored.
"The idea behind it was to create a system that would protect patrons and establishments from people out to make the nightlife unsafe," TreoScope co-owner Owen Cameron says. "It's a 24-hour doorman that never forgets a name or a face."
If you cause trouble, not only can you get kicked out of the club, but bar owners can go through the photos, find you, and red flag you for future visits.
Cameron says those running the system in their establishments can also attach reports to your name and face ? a regular rap sheet for whatever you may have done wrong, from fighting and excessive drinking to drink-tampering.
Rowdy Bar-Hopper Stopper
But if you draw a red flag, don't think you can just go down the street to the next bar or even across town. Every bar that's hooked into the electronic system can find out if you've caused trouble someplace else.
Genesis Security (www.GenesisSecurity.com) is responsible for running the system day-to-day.
"You could have a troublemaker at one bar, send [his information] off to all bars on the system, and the bar would be aware of his history," Genesis' Dave Sukic says.
It's then up to each bar to decide whether to let the patron inside.
Tristan Vanin is the general manager of Vancouver hot spot the Plaza Club. Vanin says the club felt it needed to tighten security in the wake of increasing violence in the area.
"It all starts with the front door and who you are letting in," he says. "It only takes one gunshot or one act of violence, and it'll ruin your club night."
Another Slap in the Face of Privacy?
The Vigilance system, which can also identify fake IDs, was designed to keep patrons out of harm's way, according to the company. But the security network is raising eyebrows among privacy advocates.
Lee Tien, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, is concerned the information could be used for other purposes.
"Whenever you're collecting information and tying it to their identity, then you have all sorts of problems ... as in, what are the people who get that information going to do with it?" Tien asks.
Genesis Security insists the information will not be used for marketing or any other purposes. It says the information will be kept discrete.
"It's not being released to anybody," Dave Sukic insists. "That information is sent to us directly and will only be released for court purposes."
The information, he says, could be kept for up to two years for legal reasons.