219 Civil Unions in
N.J.'s First Month
By GEOFF MULVIHILL,
AP from Forbes.com on the Web, March 20, 2007
At least 219 gay couples applied to
join in civil unions during the first month the legal institution was available
in New Jersey, a state agency said in a report issued Tuesday.
Civil unions offer gay couples the legal benefits of marriage -- but not the
title. New Jersey lawmakers created the institution last December in
response to a state Supreme Court ruling two months earlier that said it was
unconstitutional to deny gay couples access to the protections of marriage.
New Jersey's civil unions law took effect Feb. 19. The data reported Tuesday by
the state Health and Senior Services Department covers the period from then
until March 19. The data may not be complete, since some counties might
not have yet submitted their records and some couples may have applied for
licenses but have not yet joined.
The number was far smaller than activists had expected. By comparison,
about 500 gay and lesbian couples registered on the day New Jersey's domestic
partnership law went into effect in 2004. That law was simpler to take
advantage of, but offered only a handful of the benefits extended in the civil
union law.
In the United States, only Massachusetts allows gay couples to marry.
Vermont and Connecticut also have civil unions and California has domestic
partnerships that offer benefits similar to the civil unions.
Gay rights advocates in New Jersey are promising to keep pushing for the right
to marry, while some social conservatives are campaigning to amend the state
constitution to ban gay marriage.
Civil unions can be officiated by judges, mayors or clergy -- the same people
authorized to perform weddings.
The legal benefits include the right to file taxes jointly, inheritance and
adoption rights, and the ability to make medical decisions on a partner's
behalf. However, the federal government and most states do not recognize
the unions.
(Abridged)
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