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The New York Times
Opinion
Elusive Equality
EDITORIAL,
nytimes.com on the Web. February 24, 2008
In 2006, New Jersey’s Supreme Court
declared that same-sex couples must be guaranteed all the rights and benefits
that come with marriage, but left it to the State Legislature to figure out how.
Instead of simply granting gay people the right to marry, the Legislature joined
Vermont and Connecticut in creating a lesser category, civil unions.
Predictably, civil unions are proving to be an inadequate remedy.
A report issued last week by the 12-member state commission charged with
monitoring the new law’s effectiveness found that it has created “a second-class
status” for same-sex couples and is not fulfilling the court’s mandate of
equality.
Based largely on testimony at public hearings, the report highlights an array of
problems encountered by couples who have entered into civil unions. Some
have been denied retirement benefits regularly granted to heterosexual spouses.
The commission also found evidence that couples face unequal treatment when one
partner has a medical crisis. Witnesses complained of difficulty securing
their right to visit a partner or help make decisions about care. Much of
it is due to widespread ignorance about civil unions.
Poor couples — many of whom are African-American — are hurt the most by being
relegated to the inferior zone of civil unions, Sylvia Rhue, director of
religious affairs for the National Black Justice Coalition, told the commission.
They “cannot afford thousands of dollars to hire fancy lawyers to draft
documents like wills, health care proxies and powers of attorney,” she
explained.
Gov. Jon Corzine has acknowledged that the report raises “significant concerns.”
He has also said he would sign a bill ending gay couples’ exclusion from
marriage, but not in an election year. We appreciate his candor. But
to achieve real marital equality will take political courage, not more dawdling.
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