  We analyze the degree of equivalence between abelian topologically massive,
gauge-invariant, vector or tensor parity doublets and their explicitly massive,
non-gauge, counterparts. We establish equivalence of field equations by
exploiting a generalized Stueckelberg invariance of the gauge systems. Although
the respective excitation spectra and induced source-source interactions are
essentially identical, there are also differences, most dramatic being those
between the Einstein limits of the interactions in the tensor case: the
doublets avoid the discontinuity (well-known from D=4) exhibited by Pauli-Fierz
theory.
