To the editor:

Civil unions for gay and lesbian couples are a compromise. As in all compromises, both sides get part, but not all, of what they want. Civil unions reserve the term “marriage” for heterosexual partnerships while granting gay and lesbian couples a package of rights (for example, the right to visit a sick or dying partner in the hospital) that married couples take for granted. In areas of public life in which there is widespread and deep-seated disagreement, compromise is necessary and honorable. The authors of the proposed marriage amendment, by banning civil unions in section B of the amendment, have shown their disdain for compromise. Vote no on April 5.

Rachel Hile Bassett,

Lawrence