The next step may be to legalize same-sex marriage:
Agencies in New Jersey promoting equality for persons of all sexual
orientations generally regard the civil union law as a good first step. However,
their goal was, is now, and will continue to be full marriage equality, as is
currently available in Massachusetts, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South
Africa, and Israel.
Shortly after midnight on the day that the civil union law came into force, Steven Goldstein,
chairperson of Garden State Equality, "civil unionized" his partner, Daniel Gross,
in the Teaneck office of State Senator Loretta Weinberg. Their civil union
ceremony contained an unusual vow. Rabbi Elliott Tepperman, the officiator,
asked:
"Do you, Daniel, vow to continue fighting for true marriage equality, so
that couples like you can legally marry in the state of New Jersey one day
soon?"
Gross and Goldstein said "I do."
At 11 AM that morning, they were in Iselin, NJ, for a champagne brunch celebrating
the new civil union law. On Monday night, they were part of a rally at City Hall
in Jersey City helping to launched a campaign to make
marriage available to all couples in the state -- both opposite-sex and same-sex.
Goldstein said:
"It's a different experience than straight couples will have. They're
able to get married and then don't have to work the next day to win greater
recognition for their relationship. Last night was celebrating a step, and
today was rolling up our sleeves and getting right back to work." 1
In theory, Goldstein and Gross did not have to
obtain a civil union. They have been together for 14 years and were
civil unionized in Vermont in 2002. So the state of New Jersey automatically
recognized their status. But they felt it was safer to go through the ceremony
again. Goldstein said:
"We're scared that if there's an emergency, and
someone looks up whether we are civil unionized in New Jersey, who wants to
go into an explanation that New Jersey automatically recognizes Vermont
unions? It just seems safer to have the piece of paper from New Jersey."
On another occasion, Goldstein told the
New York Daily News:
"Civil unions are not marriage. Marriage is the only currency of
commitment the world understands." 2
Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said gay
activists are not satisfied with:
"... just getting benefits. What they want is total acceptance of their
lifestyle. The only way they can get total acceptance is if they can
redefine marriage so that it is no longer gender-specific." 2
The term "lifestyle" is frequently used in
place of sexual orientation by religious and social conservatives because it implies
choice and behavior. Sexual orientation implies something that is discovered,
not chosen and is innate -- part of a person's basic nature.
Om 2007-NOV-08, Jennifer Mesko of CitizenLink.com predicted that:
"The New Jersey Legislature is headed toward the creation of same-sex
"marriage" after supporters made significant gains in this week's election.
... the Legislature is set to convene a lame-duck session in which the issue
could come up, in spite of the fact that Senate President Richard Codey and
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., both Democrats, have said the issue
will not be brought up this year." 3
Mona Passignano, state issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said:
"The people of the Garden State and of this nation need to be prepared if
the Legislature attempts to pass same-sex 'marriage' before the end of the
year. If pro-marriage advocates will be willing to speak up when the time
comes, they can make a difference." 3
The term "pro-marriage advocates" is an evangelical Christian term
to describe
individuals and groups opposed to marriage equality. That is they work to
prevent the marriage of same-sex couples.
Two SSM bills introduced:
Two bills have been introduced in the legislature that would give same-sex
couples access to marriage in New Jersey. This would make New Jersey the second
state to offer marriage equality for couples of all genders. If signed into law,
it would not result in any additional rights, privileges and obligations being
given to same-sex couples. They would still have the 400 or so state privileges
given to both married couples and civil unionized couples. Same-sex couples
would still be denied the over 1,000 federal rights, privileges, and obligations
given to opposite-sex married couples. The only change from the status quo would
be that they could call their relationship a marriage.
New Jersey does not have any residency laws for couples seeking marriage. If
the SSM legislation were to become law, couples from all over the U.S. could
travel to New Jersey, return home, and challenge their state laws, legislature
and courts to give them marriage equality and/or access to the same rights as
married couples. This procedure occurred in the past with mixed-race couples who
were unable to marry in their state because of racist miscegenation laws. Marriage exclusion
of the basis of race came to a halt in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court handed
down its ruling in a case ironically called Loving v. Virginia.
Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said:
"There is a likelihood that the
bill will pass, especially if there's no outcry from those people that do
support marriage as being the union of one man and one woman only. As long
as the voice of the people is heard by the legislators, I think that will
help in hopefully stopping this legislation from moving forward."
"Couples could come here from outside the state, get married, go back to
their states and then challenge their state legislatures and their state
laws on the same-sex marriage issue. Therefore people have the right to call
in, whether they live in Oklahoma or Pennsylvania or any other state."
"We're nowhere near
the point of no return on this. But it's going to require people standing up
and making their voices heard." 4
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
Ruth Padawer & William Lamb, "Gay couple marks milestone, then returns to
the campaign," Record, Northern New Jersey, 2007-FEB-20, at:
http://www.romingerlegal.com/
Pete Winn, "Civil Unions not enough for New Jersey gays," Focus on the
Family, 2007-FEB-19, at:
http://www.citizenlink.org/
Jennifer Mesko, "N.J. hurtles Toward Same-Sex 'Marriage'," CitizenLink,
Focus on the Family Action, 2007-NOV-08, at:
http://www.citizenlink.org/
Devon Williams, "Take Action: New Jersey Legislature Seeks to Redefine
Marriage for the Nation. Two bills aim to legalize "same-sex marriage,"
CitizenLink, focus on the Family Action, 2007-NOV-21, at:
http://www.citizenlink.org/
