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Same-Sex Couples Celebrate Civil Unions
By Jennifer Millman
February 22, 2007
Civil unions officially became legal in New Jersey on Monday, but couples had to wait three days after applying for a license to exchange their vows. At least 20 couples applied on Monday in Asbury Park, Collingswood, Lambertville and South Orange, according to The Associated Press.
After waiting the requisite 72 hours to exchange their vows, 20-year couple Joanne Schailey and Beth Asaro entered a civil union shortly after midnight in Lambertville. Two gay couples exchanged vows in Asbury Park--Thomas Mannix and Kevin Pilla, and Degn Schubert and Mark Rado--after pledging to continue the fight for marriage equality, according to ABC Eyewitness News. Another couple--Marty Finkle and Michael Plake--entered into a civil union in South Orange. Amid the celebration, however, many same-sex couples recognize the stark reality of their situation. They still cannot be legally married in the state of New Jersey.
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By George Chauncey |
Why Marriage?
The History Shaping Today's Debate Over Gay Equality
Why has marriage emerged as the most explosive issue in the gay struggle for equality?
The author shows the shifting attitudes toward gays, from the growth in acceptance to the many campaigns against gay rights that led to today's demand for a constitutional amendment. What's at stake for both sides is illuminated.
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Some New Jersey officials are flatly refusing to allow civil unions, despite the new law. Mayor Steve Lonegan of Bogota, for example, says recognizing gay and lesbian couples in such a manner constitutes a violation of his faith. He calls Thursday's midnight civil unions a "midnight PR stunt." Watch the video.
Garden State Equality Chair Steven Goldstein and his partner Daniel Gross, who had one of the first civil unions recognized in the state of New Jersey, are not satisfied. Marriage is the "currency of commitment," Gross told FOX 5, and civil unions do not afford the same benefits as marriage. They grant hundreds of state-level benefits, including those dealing with taxes, inheritance, child custody and insurance, but these benefits are not recognized in most other states or by federal courts. That means same-sex couples aren't entitled to the 1,138 federal protections a marriage license confers, such as Social Security survivor benefits.
LGBT-rights leaders intend to continue working toward full equality, but opponents say they will seek a constitutional amendment explicitly barring same-sex marriage in the state. Forty-five other states already have laws or amendments to that effect.
New Jersey is the third state to legalize same-sex civil unions, after Vermont (2000) and Connecticut (2005). Massachusetts remains the only state to legalize same-sex marriage. In October, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the state to provide equal marriage benefits to gay and lesbian couples but deferred to the legislature on what to call it. Lawmakers decided on "civil unions" because the religious among them opposed calling it "marriage." A case currently is pending before the Supreme Court challenging the denial of marriage to same-sex couples, according to The Human Rights Campaign.
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