Uncategorized

New Jersey Panel Finds Civil Unions are Separate, but not Equal

The New Jersey State Civil Union Review Commission has found that the state’s civil union law does not provide the same protections to gay couples as marriage does to heterosexual couples. The commission found that “the separate categorization established by the Civil Union Act invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children,” according to the Associated Press.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine told the Philadelphia Inquirer that “it’s clear that this issue of civil rights must be addressed sooner rather than later. I encourage the Legislature to seriously review the commission’s report and, as I have said before, I will sign marriage-equality legislation when it reaches my desk.”

Nationally, the issue of same-sex marriage continues to be contentious after last month’s passage of Proposition 8 in California invalidated the state Supreme Court ruling that allowed same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, a nationwide protest called Day Without A Gay sought to keep gay civil rights in the national media and to fight the “hate and bigotry of anti-gay ballot initiatives with love and service” by encouraging supporters to take the day off of work and volunteer.

Sources:

Feminist Daily Newswire 11/20/08; DayWithoutAGay.org; Associated Press 12/10/08; Philadelphia Inquirer 12/11/08

Support eh ERA banner