Facebook Recognizes Civil Unions

Facebook has won lots of "likes" from gay rights groups for expanding its list of relationship status options. The social networking giant has added "in a civil union" and "in a domestic partnership" to the list of choices, which also includes options like "single" and "it's complicated." The change "has been a highly requested feature from users," said a Facebook spokesman. "We want to provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships on Facebook."

The president of rights group Equality Matters praised the move. "Facebook has always been an empowering place for gay people-—it's a place you can be yourself in relative safety," he told the Huffington Post. "This is a natural progression of that. In most places, gay Americans can't yet marry, but they may be able to formalize their relationship short of marriage. This change reflects that reality. Well done." (More civil union stories.)