Dec 15, 2006  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

Over the strong objections of gay activists and conservative religious groups, both houses of the New Jersey Legislature were expected to pass a civil unions bill late this week by lopsided margins.

The bill represents the legislature’s response to an Oct. 25 decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court declaring that same-sex couples must be given the same rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex spouses under the state’s constitution. The court left it up to the legislature to decide whether to call it marriage, civil unions or some other name.

“I absolutely support a full marriage bill,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark), a gay rights supporter who introduced the civil unions measure. “But at this time we just don’t have the votes to pass it.”

Caraballo and many of his colleagues who support gay rights found themselves in the unusual position of being criticized by both gay activists and gay rights opponents, both of whom wanted something other than civil unions.

The two opposing sides also expressed anger over the legislature’s decision to vote on a civil unions bill just 50 days after the court ruling, rather than take more time to deliberate over other options. The court gave the legislature 180 days to carry out its edict.

Gay activists called on lawmakers to pass a full, same-sex marriage bill while Catholic Church officials proposed a watered-down “benefits” measure that would cover any two people who were not married. Conservative Protestant groups want the legislature to defy the court by refusing to adopt any measure recognizing same-sex couples.

Last week, leaders of both houses of the legislature made it clear they would embrace the civil unions option.

“The legislature is moving very fast right now out of fear of having this issue on the table in the 2007 elections,” said Steven Goldstein, executive director of New Jersey Equality, a statewide gay rights group.

All 120 members of the state Assembly and Senate are up for re-election in 2007. Although the Democratic-controlled legislature has passed other gay civil rights bills in the past, lawmakers have cited a recent public opinion poll showing voters favor civil unions rather than marriage for same-sex couples.


Not ‘the last step’

Goldstein vowed that Garden State Equality and its allies across the state would immediately begin a campaign aimed at passing a full marriage equality bill within the next two years.

“There’s no sense here among any of the power centers — not among activists, the press or the elected officials that this is the last step,” Goldstein said. “You have legislators saying about a marriage equality bill, it’s not about if, but when.”

The Assembly and the Senate were scheduled to vote on the civil unions bill Thursday, after the Blade went to press. Supporters and opponents acknowledged that the bill was expected to pass both bodies by wide margins. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has said he would sign either a civil unions or marriage bill, although he favored a civil unions measure.

On Dec. 7, the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee voted to approve the civil unions measure by a party line vote of 4-2. The vote took place after a three-hour hearing in which supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage gave emotional testimony on the subject.

Among those testifying for and against the civil unions bill were clergy members representing a number of different religious denominations.

Representatives of state’s Catholic bishops submitted a statement to the committee calling for a separate bill that would define marriage as a union only between a man and a woman but that would allow any two adults to form a state-approved relationship. Under the bishop’s proposal, the relationship would allow the two adults, including elderly siblings or an adult child and his or her parent, to receive various state benefits available currently to spouses.

Fifteen members of the legislature have sponsored a same-sex marriage bill and others might introduce the type of benefits bill proposed by the bishops, Caraballo said. But he said neither would get out of committee, thus killing any chance for them to pass.

He said he likes the bishops’ proposal but would not consider it a substitute for his civil unions bill.

“That’s a good idea, but it has nothing to do with civil unions,” he said.


Bill’s language called ‘ridiculous’

The decision by legislative leaders to move ...