N.J. gay couples granted legal rights
TEANECK, N.J. – Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples Monday as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions.
Among the first were Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross, of Teaneck. The two men, together for 14 years, stood before two dozen friends – and nearly as many reporters, television cameras and photographers – to herald the new law, while also pointing out its shortcomings.
“Do you, Steven, agree to be legally joined with Daniel under the Civil Union Law of the state of New Jersey?” asked Teaneck Deputy Mayor Lizette Parker.
“I do,” said Goldstein, who heads the state’s leading gay-rights organization. His partner’s promise followed.
Technically, the men didn’t have to go through the ceremony to secure those rights because in 2002 they had a civil union in Vermont. New Jersey’s new law recognizes civil unions and marriage licenses from outside the state. But the two said they wanted no uncertainty about the legal protections to which they’re entitled.
“We’re scared that if there’s an emergency, and someone looks up whether we are civil unionized in New Jersey, who wants to go into an explanation that New Jersey automatically recognizes Vermont unions?” Goldstein said.
Instead of reading wedding vows, the couple pledged to continue lobbying for same-sex couples’ equal access to marriage.
New Jersey lawmakers hastily created civil unions in December, less than two months after a state Supreme Court decision held that gay couples had a right to the same benefits as married couples.
Supporters of gay marriage say they may sue, contending that civil unions do not create the equality the court ordered.
Some social conservative groups, meanwhile, are pledging to block same-sex marriage by pressing for an amendment to the state constitution that prohibits such unions. Forty-five states have laws or amendments that ban same-sex marriage.
Among the hundreds of benefits under the civil unions law, gay couples get rights dealing with adoption, child custody, visiting a hospitalized partner, making medical decisions and getting the same access to health insurance coverage that employers offer spouses of workers.
However, the federal government and most states do not recognize the unions. That means, for instance, that a surviving member of a civil union would not be entitled to his deceased partner’s Social Security benefits.
Only one state – Massachusetts – allows marriage for same-sex couples. Connecticut, Vermont and California have laws similar to New Jersey’s, though California calls its system domestic partnerships.