ISBA and Civil Unions

The Illinois State Bar Association, in yet another sign of increasing irrelevance, has become distracted by the issue of "civil unions."

The ISBA's Assembly (meeting in Wisconsin for reasons that remain unclear) has voted to support legislation allowing civil unions.

According to Findlaw, Joseph G. Bisceglia, the incoming ISBA President, stated "Supporting civil unions is not only a vote for civil rights and human rights, but also economic rights. With this action, the ISBA has agreed to provide guidance and support for legislative proposals regarding civil unions."

I actually also favor civil unions. The legislation seems very reasonable.

The problem that I have is with the ISBA. The ISBA should be a non-partisan legal organization and not an advocate for or against heated social issues. The ISBA should be taking strong stands on matters like Civil Procedure and should stay out of matters like civil unions.