Breaking: NJ Gay Marriage Decision
Gay Unions Okay, Marriage Is Not. At least, that's what I think they're saying here.
The State Supreme Court in New Jersey said today that same-sex couples are entitled to “the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes.” But the court, in its 4-3 ruling, that whether that status would be called marriage, or something else, “is a matter left to the democratic process.”
The court’s eagerly awaited decision found that an arrangement similar to that of Vermont, which authorizes civil unions between same-sex couples but does not call them marriages, would be consitutional in New Jersey under the equal protection guarantees. The court gave the legislature a six-month deadline to enact the necessary legislation to provide for same-sex unions.
The decision leaves Massachusetts as the only state to authorize same-sex marriages as such. Since the Massachusetts Supreme Court held in 2003 that that full marriage rights were required for all couples under that state’s constitution, gay-rights advocates have suffered a string of defeats in other states. The Court of Appeals of New York rejected a similar argument in July.
Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the gay-rights group Garden State Equality, said the court’s decision was disappointing.
“Those who would view today’s ruling as a victory for same sex couples are dead wrong,” he said. “Half-steps short of marriage - like New Jersey’s domestic-partnership law and also civil union laws - don’t work in the real world.”
Well, it's certainly better than what's going on in Virginia, where fundies are trying to make any relationship beyond married heterosexuals illegal. Grrrrr.
AmericaBlog, ThinkProgress and DKos have more.
The State Supreme Court in New Jersey said today that same-sex couples are entitled to “the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes.” But the court, in its 4-3 ruling, that whether that status would be called marriage, or something else, “is a matter left to the democratic process.”
The court’s eagerly awaited decision found that an arrangement similar to that of Vermont, which authorizes civil unions between same-sex couples but does not call them marriages, would be consitutional in New Jersey under the equal protection guarantees. The court gave the legislature a six-month deadline to enact the necessary legislation to provide for same-sex unions.
The decision leaves Massachusetts as the only state to authorize same-sex marriages as such. Since the Massachusetts Supreme Court held in 2003 that that full marriage rights were required for all couples under that state’s constitution, gay-rights advocates have suffered a string of defeats in other states. The Court of Appeals of New York rejected a similar argument in July.
Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the gay-rights group Garden State Equality, said the court’s decision was disappointing.
“Those who would view today’s ruling as a victory for same sex couples are dead wrong,” he said. “Half-steps short of marriage - like New Jersey’s domestic-partnership law and also civil union laws - don’t work in the real world.”
Well, it's certainly better than what's going on in Virginia, where fundies are trying to make any relationship beyond married heterosexuals illegal. Grrrrr.
AmericaBlog, ThinkProgress and DKos have more.