TRENTON, N.J. (ABP) — On Dec. 14, New Jersey became the third state in the Union to offer gay residents legal protections similar to marriage.
The New Jersey Assembly — the lower chamber of the state's legislature — passed a bill establishing civil unions 56-19. Earlier, state senators approved the bill by a similar margin. Gov. John Corzine (D) was expected to sign the bill into law Dec. 15.
It will provide gay couples with the same rights under state law as married heterosexual couples. Legislators stopped short of using the term “marriage” to describe the unions. However, they also rejected a push by a handful of conservative Republicans to amend the bill to define marriage in heterosexual-only terms.
That leaves the door open for a future legislature to allow gay couples equal use of the term “marriage.”
The bill came in response to an October ruling from the New Jersey Supreme Court. The panel was unanimous in saying the state's constitution required that gay couples be offered the same rights as married couples. However, the justices divided over whether legislators had to extend use of the term “marriage” to same-sex relationships.
Gay couples in New Jersey already could avail themselves of a domestic-partnership law passed in 2004, although that law did not provide all the protections that married couples have, like the right to visit an ailing partner in the hospital.
New Jersey joins Connecticut and Vermont as the only states to offer civil unions to gay couples, with rights and responsibilities identical to marriage. Massachusetts remains the only jurisdiction in the United States to offer full marriage to gay couples.
Gay-rights groups — who have said anything less than full civil marriage is “separate but equal” treatment for gay couples and straight couples, expressed mixed feelings about the move. “Although it is disappointing that the legislature did not grant same-sex couples full marriage equality today, it is gratifying that we are achieving pro-active advances for equality instead of having to defend ourselves against attacks,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, in a statement on the vote.
Meanwhile, the main group opposed to the bill said it will eventually lead to same-sex marriage in New Jersey.
“People have a right to rights,” said Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, according to the New York Times. “[B]ut they don't have a right to redefine an institution that's served us well for 2,000 years.”
New Jersey legislators also overwhelmingly passed another gay-rights bill the same day. The measure adds gender identity and expression to pre-existing state laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public contracts. The law already prohibited discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.
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