Civil Unions Now Legal for Gays in New Jersey

Monday a new law took effect in New Jersey that state Sen. Loretta Weinberg told reporters was "a big giant step forward." Weinberg was one of the primary sponsors of the civil unions law, which will provide gay couples with the same legal benefits married couples have, without the official title of marriage.

As part of the official adoption of the law, hundreds of gay couples were automatically granted civil unions because they had previously been joined in civil unions or married in other states or countries where gay marriage is legal. Weinberg hosted ceremonies in her office Monday for couples seeking civil unions.

Several town halls across the state opened at 12:01 a.m. to receive applications from gay couples, who must wait 72 hours before they can hold a ceremony, just like married couples. Several of the couples filing applications early Monday are planning to exchange vows early on Thursday, exactly 72 hours from the time their applications were filed. By Monday afternoon, at least 16 couples had filed applications for civil union licenses.

The new civil unions law will grant gay couples the rights to adoption and child custody, making medical decisions for a sick partner, and visiting a partner in the hospital. They also now have the right to refuse to testify against a partner in state court. However, other states and the federal government do not accept civil unions or recognize their legality, so if a partner is hospitalized in a different state, their visitation and medical decision rights may not be applicable. Also, because there is no federal recognition of civil unions, a surviving partner of a civil union will not be entitled to the deceased partner’s Social Security benefits.

"The things being granted are long overdue and very important to have, so we wanted to take advantage of it as soon as it was available," said Thomas Mannix. The 44-year old business analyst and his partner have been a couple since 1983 and were among the first in line to ask for an application just after midnight Monday morning. "But it was also bittersweet, because it’s not full marriage," said Mannix. "Once a separate class is made, a separate category, we get back to ‘separate but equal,’ which we’ve learned from the past doesn’t work."

Lawmakers in New Jersey drafted the new legislation quickly in December, shortly after a decision by the Supreme Court that gay couples should be entitled to the same rights that married couples have. Gay rights activists in New Jersey say they will continue their efforts toward legislation that gives full marriage rights, and they plan to further their agenda through any means, both political and through lawsuits.

Meanwhile, some social conservative groups are working toward blocking same-sex marriage by calling for an amendment to the New Jersey state constitution that will prohibit same-sex marriages. Such bans are already in place in 45 states. The only state that allows gay couples to marry is Massachusetts, but California allows domestic partnerships.