Bill would allow gay
marriage
By JEAN RIMBACH. from
NorthJersey.com from the Web, November 10, 2006
Marriage for gay and lesbian couples
would be legalized under a bill introduced Thursday in the Assembly, the opening
salvo in what promises to be a hotly debated issue in the months ahead.
The Civil Marriage and Religious Protection Act requires government officials to
issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but makes clear religious
institutions are not required to formalize the unions.
The bill defines marriage as "the legally recognized union of two consenting
persons in a committed relationship." It is the first measure to surface
since the state Supreme Court unanimously decided last month that gay couples
are entitled to all the benefits of marriage, yet disagreed over use of the word
marriage itself.
"If you want to fulfill the spirit and the decision of the Supreme Court without
creating a system of separate but equal, just any two consulting adults who want
to obtain a state marriage would get a civil marriage," said Assemblyman Reed
Gusciora, D-Mercer, who introduced the legislation.
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Fast facts
• New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled
on Oct. 25 that denying gay couples the same rights as married
couples was unconstitutional. It ordered the Legislature to
provide full rights either through marriage or civil unions.
• Most lawmakers support civil
unions. Polls also show overwhelming support for civil unions
in New Jersey.
• Top leaders in both houses of the
Democratic-controlled Legislature expect to address the issue by
January.
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The proposal would appear to have
little chance of success in Trenton, where key lawmakers find granting same-sex
couples full legal rights in "civil unions" more palatable. Senate
President Richard Codey, D-Essex, and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, D-Camden,
believe that most of the members will support civil unions. Governor
Corzine also says he prefers civil unions.
The court's Oct. 25 ruling gave lawmakers 180 days to amend the marriage statute
to include same-sex couples or create a separate statutory structure, such as
the civil unions. Connecticut and Vermont now permit legal ceremonies to
join gay couples and call them civil unions. Massachusetts is the only
state to grant access to marriage itself.
Gusciora said that under his proposal a civil marriage would be performed for a
$50 fee that would go to property tax reform. And, he points out, the bill
distinguishes between civil and religious marriages. He said "no religion
would be forced to perform a marriage that they didn't want to."
"This bill defines marriage as civil and religious instead of gay or straight,"
he said. "By defining it this way we are protecting the values
traditionally associated with marriage while also extending equal rights to all
New Jersey citizens."
Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, the leading gay-rights
group in the state, said the bill emphasizes what his organization "and the rest
of the progressive community have said from the very start."
"Marriage equality in New Jersey would in no way force any religion or any
member of the clergy to perform any marriage ceremony that violates their own
conscience," he said. "Marriage, in fact, is a civil institution where you
get a government license and not just a religious institution so indeed this
bill underscores that religious marriages would not be affected by this."
Religious leaders were not mollified by language setting apart marriage by the
church and government, with two prominent religious conservatives immediately
criticizing the measure.
"Assemblyman Gusciora's proposed legislation completely destroys the definition
of marriage," said John Tomicki of the Coalition to Preserve and Protect
Marriage. "He should be aware of the fact that the public does not support
same-sex marriage."
Tomicki, as well as Len Deo of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said they
weren't impressed by the bill's provision exempting clergy from having to
officiate at gay weddings.
"Clergy already have that right, so he isn't doing anything new," Deo said.
Neither Tomicki nor Deo said they were particularly concerned about the bill.
"I don't believe the Legislature, at this point in time, has the political will
to redefine marriage," Deo said.
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week shows most voters are not ready
to take that step. Asked to choose between legislation allowing same-sex
couples to form civil unions or a law allowing gay marriage, New Jersey voters
preferred civil unions 51 percent to 28 percent, with 21 percent undecided.
Asked if they support or oppose a law allowing same-sex couples to form civil
unions, voters support such a law 56 percent to 34 percent. Voters oppose
a law allowing same-sex couples to marry 50 percent to 41 percent.
Staff Writer John Chadwick contributed to this article.
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Related measures around the world
In other developments Thursday:
• MEXICO -- Mexico City's assembly voted
for the first time in the country's history to legally recognize gay civil
unions, providing homosexual couples in the country's largest city with benefits
similar to those of married couples. The mayor is expected to sign the measure
into law.
The bill, which does not approve gay marriage, has been heavily criticized by
the Catholic Church and conservative civil groups. It allows gay couples
to voluntarily register their union with civil authorities, granting them
inheritance and pension rights and other social benefits.
The legislative assembly approved the measure, 43-17, with five absentions.
• SOUTH AFRICA -- A parliamentary
committee approved proposals for same-sex marriages in South Africa, clearing
the way for the passage of legislation that would be unique on a deeply
conservative continent. The compromise, reached after heated public
debate, upset religious groups, traditionalists and even some members of the
governing African National Congress while gay rights activists said it didn't go
far enough.
The civil unions bill will go to a full session of Parliament on Tuesday, and it
is expected to pass because ANC lawmakers have been ordered to follow the party
line.
When apartheid ended in 1994, South Africa became the first nation in the world
to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• ISRAEL -- Gay leaders canceled a
parade in Jerusalem amid security concerns and pressure from fundamentalist
religious leaders who called such a public display in the holy city offensive.
The Gay Pride parade scheduled for today drew opposition from Jews, Christians
and Muslims, while hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews vented their disapproval by
clashing with police and burning trash bins in the streets several nights over
the past week.
Police had planned to post 9,000 officers to protect marchers, but authorities
asked organizers to scale back the gathering amid reprisal threats after errant
Israeli artillery shells killed 18 Palestinian civilians in Gaza on Wednesday.
Organizers agreed to turn the public parade into a rally inside a closed
stadium.
• UNITED STATES -- Massachusetts
lawmakers derailed an effort to send a proposal to voters that would ban
same-sex marriages in the state. The state Legislature voted to end a
special session before debating the proposed state constitutional amendment that
would appear on the 2008 statewide ballot. Massachusetts is the only state
that recognizes marriages between same-sex couples.
From news service reports
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