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US state approves civil unions
15/12/2006 10:42 - (SA)
Trenton - New Jersey lawmakers
approved same-sex civil unions on Thursday, giving gay and
lesbian couples the same rights as married partners without
allowing such relationships to be called "marriage".
With the expected signature of Democratic Governor Jon Corzine
in coming days, New Jersey will become the third US state
after Vermont and Connecticut to legalise civil unions.
Only Massachusetts has legalised marriage between same-sex
partners while other states have domestic partnership laws.
The New Jersey measure follows an October 25 state Supreme
Court ruling that affirmed equal rights for same-sex couples
but left it to lawmakers to decide whether to use the term
"marriage".
Stephen Goldstein, chairperson of gay rights group Garden
State Equality, said civil unions represent "tremendous
progress". But he said he was disappointed legislators did not legalise gay marriage.
"I'm glad for the progress but not very satisfied,"
Goldstein said, adding he would continue fighting for same-sex
marriage.
The measure passed the state senate with a vote of 23-12
after the Assembly approved the measure 56-19 with five
abstentions. Both houses are controlled by Democrats.
'Not enough support yet'
A poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in
Hamden, Connecticut, showed last week that 60% of New
Jersey voters supported a law allowing civil unions and half
were opposed to gay marriage.
Wilfredo Caraballo, the Democratic sponsor of the
Assembly's bill, said he would have preferred to legalise
same-sex marriage, but there was not enough support yet.
"We simply don't have the votes today," he said. "What we do have is the will to undo centuries of discrimination.
"What we are about to do today is nothing short of
recognising that love matters," Caraballo said as the bill's supporters watched from the public gallery. "The gender of who someone loves should not matter to the state."
Mims Hackett, a black Assemblyman, said acceptance of
same-sex unions was comparable to the end of the racial
discrimination he grew up with in the US South. "I look
forward to the day not far in the future when each and every
one of us can enjoy the full equality of marriage," he said.
But Republican Richard Merkt attacked the state's Supreme
Court for affirming the equal rights of same-sex couples
without seeking the public's opinion, and for requiring the
legislature to endorse its action.
"This Assembly will rubber-stamp a law dictated by an
unelected judiciary," Merkt said.
- Reuters
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