EQUAL RIGHTS
Some hail legislation that takes effect tomorrow,
others say it's not enough
By Sarah N. Lynch, Jersey Journal
(NJ.com) from the Web, July 9, 2004
With New Jersey's new domestic partnership law about to take effect tomorrow at midnight, municipal workers throughout Hudson County say they are fielding plenty of telephone calls on the policy and are hustling to learn more about the new procedures they must follow when couples begin arriving on Monday morning to apply for domestic partner status.
Among Hudson County residents, the reaction to the new law was mixed, with some hailing the legislation as an important advance and others downplaying its significance, saying the benefits of the law are too few.
The new law will allow same-sex couples over the age of 18 and heterosexual couples over the age of 62 to obtain an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership from any local registrar or office of vital statistics in the state, provided that at least one of the parties applying for the affidavit is a New Jersey resident.
The law will also provide domestic partners with some of the same rights available to married couples, including hospital intensive care unit visitation rights, the ability to file joint state income taxes and to inherit property without paying a state inheritance tax, access to pension benefits, and the right to sue employers, landlords or others for discrimination.
However, the law does not guarantee access to federal benefits, including Social Security benefits.
It also does not mandate that partners pay alimony or palimony should a partnership be terminated.
While some municipalities throughout New Jersey, including Maplewood and South Orange, will be holding celebrations and opening their municipal buildings at midnight tomorrow evening so people can register, Hudson County municipalities plan to begin issuing domestic partnerships on Monday morning.
So, on Monday at 9 a.m. sharp, Allen Kratz and his partner Paul Somerville, both of Hoboken, will be at the Hoboken Office of Vital Statistics to sign the paperwork.
Kratz and Somerville were legally married in Oregon in March and have been together since 1985.
"We definitely believe in marriage equality and we are going as far as we can in New Jersey, which at this point is domestic partnership," Kratz said.
"We recognize that this is only the first step in New Jersey to what we hope will become full marriage equality."
Tolanda Ross, the deputy city clerk of Jersey City, said that while calls about the new law have trickled off since it was adopted by the state Legislature in January, she has noticed that more individuals have again been inquiring about it lately.
"They just want to know when we'll start (accepting applications), what to bring and how much it costs. Basic questions," Ross said.
To apply, couples must provide proof of shared finances, such as a joint bank account or joint ownership of a home or car.
Municipal workers said the late arrival of the domestic partnership application forms this week made it difficult for them to prepare for the new law.
While most municipalities didn't get the papers until yesterday morning, local registrars attended a seminar in Freehold several months ago to learn more about the procedures surrounding the applications
Jersey City Clerk Robert Byrne said that while he supports the new law, he is concerned about the extra strain on some local government offices since the new law does not require couples to register for domestic partnerships in their home municipality.
"The problem is that people with no Jersey City connection could come to Jersey City and ask for and expect to receive services," Byrne said.
"Taxpayers would be eating that cost."
State Sen. Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, who has strongly supported the legislation since it was first discussed about 10 years ago, said the domestic partnership law will benefit not only the couples who apply, but also the state as well.
"I believe that gay couples should have the right to enter into agreements with each other to protect their numerous interests, whether they be health care, property rights or contracts," Kenny said.
"To me, it benefits these couples because it provides them with stability and it benefits the state of New Jersey because stable relationships are important to our community."
Gay rights activists said they are pleased that the state passed the legislation.
Melissa Hall, pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Hoboken, said she feels the domestic partnership law is a step in the right direction for gay rights.
"I think it's a wonderful first start. It's a wonderful moment for gay and lesbian people to realize their full status and responsibility," Hall said.
"It is an abhorrent thing to me that gay and lesbian are in fact an oppressed people and (the federal government) feels it's OK to enact laws that do not help, but hinder their full citizenship in this country."
Anahi Galante, the founder of the United in Grace Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ministry at Grace Van Vorst Church in Jersey City, expressed similar sentiments.
But Galante also noted that she feels the law does not go far enough in terms of securing gay couples the full rights and benefits that married couples currently receive.
"I still don't think this is enough," she said. "And this keeps gay and lesbians as second-class citizens.
Unless we achieve full rights of married couples, we will not have achieved equal rights."
Although many gay and lesbian activists agree that the state is headed in the right direction, not everyone is rushing to apply.
Garth Kobal and his partner Ray Rigdon of Jersey City said that because they already had a special ceremony at Grace Church, they are not in a hurry to run over to City Hall.
"My partner and I have not discussed it much," Kobal said. "We got married in Grace Church in Jersey City.
We've been together for 20 years, so we had a ceremony to honor our time together."
Kobal said that while he and Rigdon are eager to be legally recognized, they feel that the act of marriage is spiritual and they are very satisfied with the ceremony they had at the church.
"We plan to do it (file for domestic partnership), but we have not planned when we'll do it," Kobal said.
The gay and lesbian population is not the only group affected by this new law.
Senior citizens living with partners of the opposite sex are also a target group in the bill.
Jersey City resident Joyce Davison said she feels the law is useless to senior citizens unless domestic partners can receive Social Security benefits.
"I would be down there in a minute if I could just be a domestic partner and it would be equal to Social Security," she said.
"All of the other benefits that I've heard can be easily managed in other ways.
Nobody has ever questioned me (when I'm at the hospital visiting my partner).
Nobody asks for a marriage certificate."
Still, many agreed that some benefits are better than none.
"In my opinion, this is something that should happen nationwide," Galante said.
"I think it's wonderful that the state of New Jersey has made historical progress.
"In a way, it is the forefront of a movement that still has a way to go."
Newhouse New Service contributed to this report.
|
