N.J. court rules gay couples have partner rights
NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey Supreme Court left the door ajar for the approval of same-sex marriage Wednesday, ruling that gay couples are entitled to rights no different from those of heterosexual couples.
The court gave state legislators 180 days to craft a bill offering gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals, though it appeared to leave open a choice between same-sex marriage and civil unions.
“Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state constitution,” the court stated in its 4-3 ruling.
The New Jersey decision could stoke the flagging fires for social conservatives elsewhere in the nation, who have complained loudly of their unhappiness with the Republican Party during this election cycle. New Jersey, however, tends towards social liberalism – albeit with strong pockets of social conservatism.
As the court’s decision stops short of mandating same-sex marriage, few expected it to unhinge a taut race for the U.S. Senate between Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and Republican Thomas H. Kean Jr., say political observers. Menendez and Kean oppose gay marriage, although Kean has gone further and called for a state constitutional amendment to ban it.
New Jersey’s governor and legislature have danced warily around the question of same-sex marriage. The legislature passed a domestic partnership law in 2004 but has been reluctant to touch the politically sensitive question of marriage.
Under existing law, same-sex couples can enjoy some of the legal rights of marriage, such as health care for the partners of state workers and the right to inherit possessions if a partner leaves behind no will. But such couples still lack dozens of legal rights accorded to married couples, including some governing taxes and adoption.
Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine has supported domestic partnership but not same-sex marriage. Wednesday he hailed the decision, without precisely tipping his hand about which legislative remedy he favored.
Following a similar state Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts permitted same-sex marriage in 2003. But in recent years, courts in the states of Washington and New York have ruled against same-sex unions.