NJ to become third state to offer civil unions to gay couples.

[~sudsshane]

N.J. To Become 3rd State With Civil Unions For Gay Couples.
New Jersey will become the third state with civil unions for gay couples starting Monday, as a law passed last year under pressure from the state Supreme Court.

 

[exploder3211]

YAHOOOOOO!!! Maybe Auntie Toggles can come and marry me and who ever i might settle down with one day??
(ducks n runs)

 

[JerseyMike]

Here's a copy of an article from today's Bergen Reco

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N.J. civil-union era starts today
Sunday, February 18, 2007

By RUTH PADAWER
STAFF WRITER

New Jersey will become the fifth state in the nation Monday to extend all the legal rights of marriage to same-sex couples, although the Legislature stopped short of offering 'marriage' itself.

Q: So can gay couples begin having civil-union ceremonies that day?

Under the new law, gay couples can apply for civil-union licenses beginning Monday, and can be legally joined 72 hours later, the same as with heterosexual marriage.

Q: Are there exceptions to that waiting period?

Couples who had a civil union in Vermont or Connecticut will automatically be considered in a civil union in New Jersey. Couples who want to "reaffirm" their civil union in New Jersey can waive the 72-hour wait. Such is the case with Steven Goldstein, head of the state's gay-rights movement, who had a civil union with his partner in Vermont. They plan to have what will likely be the state's first civil-union ceremony at the stroke of midnight tonight, in Teaneck. It will occur in the office of state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, co-author of the civil-union law.

Q: What about couples who were married in Massachusetts, or in the countries that allow gays to marry? Or couples who have a domestic partnership from California, which extends all that state's rights of marriage?

The Attorney General's Office said Friday it will recognize all of those as civil unions in New Jersey.

Q: How does the new law affect the more than 7,000 domestic partnerships issued to same-sex couples in New Jersey over the last two years?

It doesn't. Domestic partnership offers only a few of the hundreds of rights of marriage. Same-sex domestic partners who want all the legal rights of marriage must obtain a civil union.

Q: Won't town halls be closed Monday for the federal holiday?

Most will be closed, effectively postponing the law's implementation one day. But town halls in Teaneck, South Orange, Asbury Park and Lambertville are planning to open briefly at midnight, just to issue civil-union applications.

Q: What accounts for the change in the law?

The law follows a state Supreme Court decision late last year, which held unanimously that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to all the state's 850 marital rights and protections. The justices directed the Legislature to work out the details. That includes a procedure for ending the union if the couple breaks up, including the ability to sue in divorce court, divide property, petition for child custody and apply for alimony.

The case grew out of a failed attempt by seven same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses. The plaintiffs, some together for more than three decades, argued that prohibiting them from marrying the person they loved violated the state's constitutional guarantee of liberty and equality to "all persons."

Q: What do gays and lesbians think about the new law?

Same-sex couples are cautiously embracing their change in status, welcoming new rights but decrying what they deem a "separate but equal" approach. Those who believe civil unions don't go far enough are backing a bill in the Assembly judiciary committee to legalize same-sex marriage. "Getting a civil union is like a song with words but no music," said a disappointed Goldstein, head of Garden State Equality.

Q: What do the law's opponents say?

They say it goes too far. "To raise a gay or lesbian relation to the equivalent level of marriage undermines the cultural values of our country," said John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage. He supports state Sen. Gerald Cardinale's proposed constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman -- a proposal that has been introduced in the past, and fizzled. The New Jersey Catholic Conference, which says civil unions undermine marriage, is urging parishioners to lobby legislators to preserve traditional marriage.

Q: What else does the law do?

The law says that when civil-union partners are asked their marital status on government or private forms, they may legally check off "married" if "civil union" is not listed as a choice. The law also establishes a commission to evaluate the implementation of the statute and its effect on same-sex couples and their families. Governor Corzine has nominated five people to the panel, including Goldstein.

Q: Do public officials or clergy have to conduct civil-union ceremonies?

Public officials are not compelled by law to solemnize civil unions or marriage, but those who perform marriage ceremonies must also be available to perform civil unions -- or face possible legal action for violating the state's Law Against Discrimination. Not so for clergy: They may legally decline to perform civil unions, even if they perform marriages, if doing civil unions would conflict with "sincerely held religious beliefs."

Q: Does the law have any effect on heterosexuals who plan to marry?

The new law also changes the procedure for straight couples getting a marriage license. The old law required straight couples to get their license in the town where the bride lived. The new law holds that any couple, gay or straight, can get a license in the town where either lives. If neither lives in New Jersey, then the license is to come from the town where the ceremony will be held.

E-mail: [email protected]


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[JerseyMike]

Here's an article from today's Asbury Park Press

Civil union law begins today, but activists still seek gay marriage
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/18/07
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HADDONFIELD — Diane Marini used to joke that she was always the bridesmaid and never the bride, because as a lesbian, she thought it was unlikely New Jersey would ever approve of same-sex marriage.

Still, she and her longtime partner, Marilyn Maneely, pushed for gay marriage. They were among seven couples who sued the state in 2002 for the right to marry. The suit didn't lead to a gay marriage law but led to New Jersey becoming the third state to offer civil unions to same-sex couples.

The civil unions law takes effect today, and some same-sex couples are planning ceremonies. It will be a bittersweet day for Marini, because Maneely died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2005, more than a year before the case was decided.

"I'm thrilled to have been part of the whole movement to show people, who didn't know what marriage meant, why it was important," said Marini, who plans to attend one couple's ceremony next weekend and probably several more in the next few months.

In October, the state Supreme Court ruled that New Jersey must extend all the rights of marriage to gay couples, but left it to state lawmakers to decide whether to provide those rights in the form of marriages, civil unions or something else. They opted for "civil unions," in part due to opposition from legislators who objected on religious grounds to calling it "marriage."

Marini, a construction contractor, and Maneely, a home-health nurse, were a couple for more than 14 years.

They met at a spiritual retreat in Ocean City. Marini, who had come out as a lesbian when she was a student at Parson's School of Design in New York in the early 1970s, saw it as a vacation. Maneely, a mother of five who knew how to cook for a big group, was there mostly to run the kitchen.

It was only after meeting Marini that Maneely realized she was gay and sought a divorce from her husband.

Marini left her house in Philadelphia and restored a home for the couple and Maneely's five children in Haddonfield. The couple golfed, went to the beach, shuttled the kids around and went to women's and gay rights marches in Washington.

Their activism increased five years ago when they joined with six other couples in the lawsuit, where they asked New Jersey courts to expand gay rights to include marriage.

It was toward the end of Maneely's life that Marini says they felt shortchanged because they didn't have the same rights as married couples.

After Maneely fell sick in early 2005, the couple registered as domestic partners under a 2004 New Jersey law that extended some benefits of marriage to gay couples. Under that law, Marini was entitled to make medical decisions for her partner in New Jersey, the way a spouse would. But much of Maneely's treatment was in a clinic in Philadelphia. There, Marini said, one of Maneely's children had to be listed as next-of-kin — a sign that she would not be treated like her partner's spouse.

Marini said, as advocates for gay marriage have often argued, that the benefits of marriage come into play often when one spouse is sick.

"It's a time of emergency, a time of hysteria," she said. And a bad time to explain legal rights and status to hospital officials, well-meaning or not, she said.

Gay rights advocates say they will keep pressing for New Jersey to become the second state in the nation to allow gay marriage. Massachusetts is the only state to allow same-sex marriages; Vermont and Connecticut have civil union laws.


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[alr2903]

Cut to the chase..........

Property survivorships, Employer family Healthcare, Taxes? Family plan auto insurance? sign me, Way to old for a shower and gifts.. Although Ive kept all the invitations from the "Blessed events" from the last twenty years. On second hand if they All showed up, even the re,re,re marrieds, We could make quite a haul. LOL

 

[JerseyMike]

Here's a link to the Star-Ledger's coverage

Time for a celebration
For state, a civil thing to do
Sunday, February 18, 2007
BY ROBERT SCHWANEBERG
Star-Ledger Staff
Cindy Meneghin and Maureen Kilian of Butler plan to celebrate their civil union in a big way -- with a church ceremony in front of 200-plus guests and a reception afterward.

Plaintiffs in the pioneering lawsuit that led to civil unions, they still hope the day will come when New Jersey allows same-sex couples to marry.

"We just don't want to wait any longer," Meneghin said. "We're 49 years old, and we've waited 32 years to do this. We don't want to wait on the New Jersey Legislature to do it right."

Lill Rimac and Donna Waliky of Rockaway will have a quiet civil union at borough hall next week.

"We're just going to get together with a few friends of ours and go out in true rugby tradition for a few pints," Waliky said. They had a big celebration in 2001 -- with 160 guests, a three-tiered cake and a white gown and tux -- that conferred no legal recognition whatsoever.

"In our minds, that was the wedding and Tuesday the 27th will be the paperwork," Waliky said.

The law creating civil unions in New Jersey takes effect tomorrow. The occasion is both historic and symbolic.

Gay and lesbian couples who enter civil unions will gain all the benefits and obligations -- more than 800 -- that state law confers on married spouses.

But like the vast majority of their peers nationwide, same-sex partners here remain excluded from marriage. Whether they ever will attain it is an open question.

In Massachusetts, where the highest court mandated same-sex marriage in 2003, a backlash has fueled efforts to amend the state constitution to prohibit future gay weddings.

Twenty-six states have written bans on same-sex marriage into their constitutions. Eighteen of those can be read to outlaw any legal recognition of same-sex unions.

The reasoning of the Massachusetts justices that equal justice requires same-sex marriage has been rejected by all eight American appeals courts that have considered it, including the New Jersey Supreme Court.

"I think it's fair to say at this point the nation has in very large part rejected the call to revolution issued by the four justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court," said Monte Stewart, president of the Utah-based Marriage Law Foundation. "At the intellectual level, the battle over constitutionality was over some time ago, and man-woman marriage won."

Gay rights activists have a very different perspective.

"I don't think the lesbian and gay community in the United States will ever settle for second-class status," said Jon Davidson, legal director of the gay rights group Lambda Legal. "We might be there for a while, but we're not going to stay there."

Davidson is encouraged by developments since 2000, when Vermont, under orders from its highest court, became the first state to recognize civil unions. New Jersey becomes the fifth to give same-sex couples all the benefits that accompany marriage, whatever the title.

"You have 21 percent of same-sex couples living in jurisdictions where they can access all those rights," Davidson said. "Seven years ago, it was zero."

In New Jersey, the gay rights group Garden State Equality plans an all-out push to win legislative approval of same-sex marriage within two years.

"The momentum in New Jersey for marriage equality is huge," said Steven Goldstein, the group's chairman.

Last week, a group of clergy members and activists launched a petition drive aimed at amending the state constitution to restrict marriage to one man and one woman. The state's Catholic bishops, who support that effort, have designated next Sunday as "a day of special prayer for the preservation of marriage."

Stewart, who opposes "genderless marriage," said, "There are still some key battles left to fight."

Legislative efforts to legalize same-sex marriage are under way in New York and Washington, among other states, while lawsuits seeking marriage equality are pending before the highest courts of California, Connecticut and Maryland.

A victory in California, Goldstein said, could trigger "a sea change" in public attitudes. But he added that winning equality in some states that have rejected same-sex marriage "will take a generation."

For now, and possibly for decades to come, the result is a nationwide hodgepodge of differing legal protections for same-sex couples, none of which may command much respect in other states.

"There's some concern about the possibility of losing rights by entering a civil union," said Laura Pople, president of the New Jersey Gay and Lesbian Coalition. She said there are serious questions whether companies in New York and Pennsylvania that grant benefits to their employees' domestic partners will recognize New Jersey civil unions.

"If it were marriage, it would be clear," Pople said.

Even so, many same-sex couples are eager to form civil unions. Municipal officials in South Orange, Lambertville and Asbury Park plan to open their doors just after midnight to accommodate couples determined to be among the first to have a civil union. Despite the holiday, Asbury Park will reopen city hall tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to issue licenses for civil unions.

Once they obtain a license, couples must wait 72 hours to have the civil union performed.

That waiting period is not required for couples who already have civil unions in other states and want to reaffirm them. In Teaneck, Goldstein and his partner of 15 years, Daniel Gross, planned to reaffirm their 2002 Vermont civil union just after midnight, giving them a claim on the first civil union performed in New Jersey.

Waliky and Rimac have arranged to get their license on Tuesday and have a low-key civil union a week later. They already had the big celebration -- in a "gigantic tent" on a family farm in Clinton, in 2001, Waliky said.

"It was like any other American wedding. Lill and I exchanged vows in front of all our family and friends," Waliky said. "I wore the gown; Lill wore the tux. It was a perfect day."

They want a civil union for the legal protection it provides, Waliky said. Four years ago, she explained, Rimac was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The surgery was successful, but the memories remain.

"We had to raise holy hell to get me into the emergency room to see her," Waliky said. "It was a real eye-opener to us that we needed to protect ourselves."

And if New Jersey ever legalizes same-sex marriages?

"Sure, we'll redo the whole ceremony," Waliky said. "It will be like an anniversary. We'll probably do it on the same date, and God willing, on the same spot."

When Kilian and Meneghin joined six other same-sex couples in a lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal in 2002, they hoped it would allow them to marry. The state Supreme Court ruled in October they deserve all the benefits conferred by marriage, but left it up to lawmakers whether to call it that or something else. The Legislature passed a bill creating civil unions.

Civil unions work just like marriage: the couple obtains a license and can have the actual ceremony performed either by a public official or member of the clergy.

"The church ceremony is the most important part to us," Meneghin said. They plan to be united Saturday at the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown by the rector, Rev. Philip Wilson, an Episcopal priest.

"It will be the regular church service for marriage, slightly amended, because we are not allowed to use the words 'marriage' or 'spouse' or 'wife,'" Meneghin said.

They met in high school and have been together 32 years. Their 14-year-old son, Joshua Kilian-Meneghin, will be best man and his 12-year-old sister, Sarah, will be maid of honor.

"We want to celebrate how far we've come, even knowing we have a fight ahead of us to attain full equality," Kilian said.

It is a fight Meneghin is convinced they will win in the long run.

"It's just a matter of people being able to get their hearts and minds around the truth," she said. "The truth is we are a married couple without the same rights and protections of a married couple. The law and society will catch up."

Robert Schwaneberg may be reached at [email protected] or (609) 989-0324.

© 2007 The Star Ledger
© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-6/117177692197300.xml&coll=1

 

[oxydolfan1]

Yep....the first one's going to be done five minutes away from me in less than an hour (thank you, Loretta Weinberg!!)

 

[panthera]

wonderful

I think this is great. Sure, "separate but equal" is a little bit like diet coke...but we are talking about a state in the USA here.
The choke hold of the christianists just got loosened a little bit.
If this keeps up, who knows Americans might one day even enjoy the right of habeus corpus...again.

 

[oxydolfan1]

It's a satisfactory first step.....

But marriage equality is still an absolute imperative.

For instance, you can live in New Jersey and, even with your civil union, you can be denied your health coverage benefits if your place of employment is in New York, Pennsylvania, etc.

It's just another landmark, just another jab at the soft white underbelly of conservatism's stranglehold on this nation....

But we will persevere, and we will emerge triumphant.

 

[JerseyMike]

Here's an article from today's Express Times

As civil unions debut, a chance to make it legal
Area couple hope to be one of the first this week in New Jersey in effort to become "role models."
Monday, February 19, 2007
BY LYNN OLANOFF
The Express-Times
BELVIDERE | As a pastor and an organist, the Rev. Emory Byrum and Tim Harrell have performed at hundreds of weddings.

This week, Byrum and Harrell will take part in the alternative offered to them as a gay couple. As of today, civil unions are legal in New Jersey.

Byrum and Harrell were the first couple in Belvidere to obtain a domestic partnership when it became legal in 2004 and want to be the town's first couple to get a civil union.

Their civil union ceremony planned this week will coincide with their 35th anniversary, which falls Tuesday.

The wedding regulars are looking forward to their own uniting ceremony.

"There have been many times we have thought, 'We should be able to do this,' " Harrell, 51, said. "We're more serious than a lot of the brides and grooms doing it."

Although they have intimate ties to churches, the couple are planning a simple ceremony. They plan on having their longtime attorney, Lopatcong Township Mayor Douglas Steinhardt or Belvidere Mayor Charles Liegel officiate the ceremony.

Byrum, 73, is pastor at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Belvidere. Harrell is organist and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, Pa.

The Episcopal Church allows same-sex uniting ceremonies but neither Byrum nor Harrell feel the need for a church ceremony. They said their commitment is just as serious without one.

Byrum added he would be more interested if there was an official church liturgy for same-sex uniting ceremonies. Episcopalian clergy generally improvise on marriage liturgy when performing same-sex uniting ceremonies, he said.

The couple aren't planning a big party, either.

"We've been together so long, it would be like a married couple who never had the ceremony before and then had a party 35 years later," Harrell said.

Forsaking celebratory reasons, Harrell and Byrum said getting a civil union is important to them for the legal protections it provides.

They also want to take advantage of the right so it can continue to be available to other same-sex couples in the future. Too few civil unions may give opponents ammunition in questioning the ceremony's necessity, they said.

"We should be out in front and support it for the benefit of other gays and lesbians," Byrum said. "We feel we can be role models."

Byrum and Harrell said they feel they have the support of their community and churches but that hasn't always been the case.

They come from the Portsmouth, Va., area, where they said they had to keep their relationship secret for years. Byrum was a married Southern Baptist minister and Harrell is 22 years younger than him.

"The only way you'd survive as a Southern Baptist is to be closeted," Byrum said.

Byrum came out in 1989, when he left his church and moved to Doylestown, Pa., to live with Harrell, who had moved north 11 years earlier. In 1994, they moved to Belvidere when Byrum got his job at St. Mary's and moved into the church's rectory next door on Third Street.

They plan to move back to Doylestown, where they still own a condominium, when Byrum retires in 2008. They're not sure what kind of rights their New Jersey civil union will grant them in Pennsylvania.

Byrum's family -- his three children, eight grandchildren and even his ex-wife -- have remained supportive. Byrum's children and grandchildren are Harrell's family, too.

"We call them all 'ours' they've grown up with Tim around," Byrum said.

Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at [email protected].

© 2007 The Express Times
© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-4/117186165721700.xml&coll=2

 

[JerseyMike]

Here's an article from the Courier-Post

This is a printer friendly version of an article from the Courier-Post
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Civil union law alters social landscape of N.J.

By JUDITH W. WINNE
Courier-Post Staff

Janine Casella and Rachel Roff of Woodbury are preparing this week to tie the knot after five years together and twin sons.

It won't be a true wedding ceremony. New Jersey doesn't permit marriage between same-sex couples. But a new law, prompted by a state Supreme Court decision, gives gay couples "the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples who choose to marry."

Unlike Massachusetts, New Jersey pointedly withholds the word marriage from the law permitting gay couples civil unions. It's an important distinction, and gay people are quick to bristle at the difference. Vowing to continue the fight, some activists are pressing for marriage.

But for Casella and others, the legislation represents "small strides."

The civil union law takes effect today. No one knows how many people will seek a civil union. The state has no data yet, and several towns, including Cherry Hill, Mount Laurel and Woodbury, late last week reported little or no interest so far.

For those seeking a civil union, why is the partnership important?

"To legitimize my relationship," said Casella, a Camden teacher. "And for the benefits, especially with us, with a stay-at-home mom, we really need the health benefits."

Roff, who spends her days reading to, playing blocks with, and chasing after two active 17-month-old boys, agreed.

"It's exactly the same reason heterosexuals get married," Roff said. "You do it for legal protection. You do it for emotional bonding. You make the decision to spend the rest of your life with someone. It's not a temporary thing. She's my soul mate."

Ronald G. Lieberman, a family attorney, suggested the law's reach will be expansive, covering everything from family leave to inheritance and child custody.

"It takes same-sex couples right up to the cliff," Lieberman of Adinolfi & Spevak in Haddonfield said. "You get everything a married couple gets, except you can't be married."

Of course, since federal law does not recognize same-sex unions, those protections do not apply. A gay man, for example, would not be entitled to the Social Security benefits of a deceased partner. And there are other sticking points.

David Buckel, the lead lawyer in the lawsuit that prompted the landmark civil union court decision, cautioned in a recent teleconference that civil union doesn't command the respect marriage does. He described it as "parallel status" -- one that is potentially confusing.

Only two other states permit civil unions -- Connecticut and Vermont. While the New Jersey civil union law seemed to attract little widespread public opposition, the issue of same-sex couples and their families has been a hot topic recently. In Evesham, many parents protested loudly when they learned the school district was screening a diversity video for third-graders. The presentation included portraits of families with two moms or two dads.

Angry parents argued the material was not suitable for 8- and 9-year-olds, and this was subject matter best taught at home. Under pressure, the district withdrew the video.

Clearly, there are also those who are opposed to civil union.

Len Deo, New Jersey Family Policy Council president, said the law is unfair to others who are not gay -- two sisters, for example, who live together and want to reap the benefits of civil union. And Deo charged the proponents of the new law with ulterior motives.

"They're not going to stop at civil union," said Deo, whose organization promotes traditional families. "They want full marriage equality."

Moreover, Deo believes equality advocates want to redefine marriage so that "any combination of people," might qualify for wedded status.

In Brigantine, Denny DiRenzo, a former Cherry Hill councilman, said he wouldn't want to deny any individuals their rights, but believes there is something special about marriage.

"We're all raised with the concept of Adam and Eve," he said. "Now, we've got Adam and Adam and Eve and Eve . . . They (homosexuals) can't procreate. Isn't that the whole purpose of marriage?"

For Scott Morrison of Pennsauken, Camden County Young Republicans treasurer, the objection to civil unions centers on the inability of voters to decide the matter on the ballot.

"I dislike the courts deciding a whole list of issues, from abortion rights to eminent domain to same-sex marriage," Morrison said.

John Tomicki, New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage president, also believes "the public should be the ultimate arbiters of how marriage is defined." For Tomicki, that means a man and a woman.

The coalition has launched a petition drive to press state legislators for a constitutional amendment. The amendment would decree "only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage."

Still, gay partnerships are now so much a part of the fabric of contemporary society they are the subject of pop culture references.

On a recent episode of Two and a Half Men, a frustrated divorcee asks an aging bachelor, "Doesn't anybody want to get married and have children?" The bachelor replies dryly, "Yes, but they're all gay."

In Collingswood, Mark Henderson and Charles Dowdy -- parents of sons Xavier, 6, and Sekai, 3 -- plan a civil union this week.

Henderson said the two want to secure their rights, but after nearly a decade together, they feel fully united as a couple. Henderson, 42, refers to Dowdy, 41, as "my husband."

"It's nine years, and it still feels like three," Henderson said.

In Woodbury, Casella and Roff, both 37, plan to have Kathy Hogan, a Haddon Township official, unite them in a civil union.

They already had a commitment ceremony, a symbolic event, in 2004. It was important, Casella said, to do so before she delivered sons Kyle and Gavin.

"Of course, it was not legal in any manner, but for us, it was how most people get married -- committing yourself in front of friends and family, which was important to us," Casella said.

Reach Judith W. Winne at (856) 486-2441 or [email protected]
Published: February 19. 2007 3:10AM

http://www.courierpostonline.com/ap...enr=702190349&Ref=AR&Show=0&template=printart

 

[JerseyMike]

From the Jersey Journal

Gay pairs celebrate on 'PATH to Equality'

Monday, February 19, 2007

By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

After more than eight years together, Jersey City residents Greg Perez, 47, and Doug Flores, 42, can finally be joined - not in marriage, but in a civil union.

"As soon as they call it marriage, I will print up invitations and send one to my dad," Flores said. "Until then I don't want to have to explain what a civil union is."

Nevertheless, Perez and Flores say they'll be participating in a celebration tonight at Jersey City City Hall as they pick up their forms to apply for a civil union.

The Texans moved to Jersey City three years ago so that Perez, an Episcopalian priest, could join the Newark diocese - one of the most progressive in the country. It supports same-sex marriage and the ordination of women.

Perez and Flores will be joined by a number of other activists at Jersey City City Hall, 280 Grove St., today at 7 p.m. A number of participants say the celebration will begin at 6:45 p.m. at the Christopher Street PATH station in Manhattan, where they'll board a train to Grove Street and then walk to City Hall.

Because today is Presidents Day - a state and federal holiday - no civil unions will actually be filed. Mayor Jerramiah Healy will symbolically receive applications on behalf of City Clerk Robert Byrne.

However, Byrne will be on hand to answer any questions about how civil unions work.

Some towns, such as Maplewood, opened after 12:01 a.m. to officially accept the first civil union applications. Flores said it would have been nice if Jersey City had done the same.

"I would like to think that people felt so strongly they would have opened up City Hall for this purpose," he said.

City officials said they didn't open today to accept civil unions because they would have had to open for all municipal business.

But even if today's event is symbolic - and even if some same-sex couples say they won't be satisfied until they have all the benefits of marriage, including the name - there will still be a lot of celebrating.

"The PATH to Equality" event, which includes free dinner at Love Is the Message (l.i.t.m.) at 140 Newark Ave. in Jersey City at 7:30 p.m., is being hosted by the Hudson Diversity Action Council, Hudson Pride Connections, Garden State Equality, Jersey City Lesbian and Gay Outreach and other groups. For more information, go to http://www.jclgo.org.

© 2007 The Jersey Journal
© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-3/1171868419209320.xml&coll=3

 

[JerseyMike]

From the Home News Tribune

Civil unions available in NJ to gay couples -- hundreds take advantage of new law

Home News Tribune Online 02/19/07

Hundreds of gay couples received the same legal protections as married couples as a law making New Jersey the third state in the nation to offer civil unions took effect Monday.

The civil unions … which offer the legal benefits but not the title of
marriage … were granted automatically to the hundreds of gay New Jersey
couples who have been joined in civil unions or married in other states or
nations.

At least one couple held a ceremony at the first possible moment. Steven
Goldstein and Daniel Gross reaffirmed their Vermont civil union. They would
have had the rights in New Jersey even without holding a midnight ceremony
here.

A handful of town halls across the state also opened at 12:01 a.m. to
accept civil union license applications from couples who had not been so
joined previously. They must wait 72 hours before they can hold civil union
ceremonies, and several plan to exchange vows early Thursday.

Thomas Mannix and his partner Kevin Pilla showed up at Asbury Park City
Hall at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, so they could be among the first to fill
out the one-page application, along with four other couples, once the clock
struck 12:01 a.m.

"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
Mannix, a 44-year-old business analyst. "But it was also bittersweet
because it's not full marriage. 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.''

He said as each couple handed their paperwork on to the clerk's office,
they received a round of applause.

Mannix and Pilla, a 43-year-old design consultant, have been together
since 1983. They plan to have a low-key ceremony on Thursday, but are
holding off on an elaborate celebration until the day their union is called
a marriage.

"We've gone to quite a few weddings of people we care a great deal
about, and some of them were second or third marriages," Mannix said. "So
while we're getting dressed and putting the suits on, we're saying, 'I
can't believe so-and-so is doing this again and we still can't.' "

The American Civil Liberties Union decried that fact.

"Prior to the civil unions law, our state had never before determined
that all citizens are due certain rights and privileges, yet set up a
separate system and label for the rights of one identified group of
citizens as opposed to all others,'' said Ed Barocas, legal director for
the group's New Jersey chapter. "If such a separate system of rights and
an affixation of a different label were done on the basis of race, we would
decry it, call it bigotry, see it as an affront to all New Jerseyans, and
call it abhorrent and wrong. When it is done on the basis of sexual
orientation, it is no less of an affront to all New Jerseyans, and no less
abhorrent and wrong.''

Another couple who registered just after midnight were Marty Finkle and
Michael Plake of South Orange. A couple dozen friends, Finkle's 17-year-old
daughter and several local officials showed up to cheer the couple as they
filled out paperwork in their town hall.

The couple was also one of the first in the state to register in a
domestic partnership in 2004. Domestic partnerships offered a handful of
the benefits and obligations of civil unions.

New Jersey lawmakers hastily created civil unions last 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.

Gay rights activists in the state say they'll continue to press for full
marriage rights through both political channels and lawsuits. Some social
conservative groups, meanwhile, are pledging to block same-sex marriage by
pressing for an amendment to the state constitution to prohibit same-sex
marriage.

Forty-five states have legal or constitutional bans on same-sex
marriages. Only Massachusetts allows gay couples to marry, while California
offers domestic partnerships.

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http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...&ArtNo=70219003&SectionCat=&Template=printart

 

[toggleswitch]

I don't have a thing to wear except gold lamee.

Me officiate?
Not unless Westyslatfront cleans my vestments.

Well if "fake" 2nd class marriage is now all-the-rage in the ankle-grabber community, they better come up with "fake" 2nd class divorce, and fast. Bigamy anyone?

http://www.istok.net/home.php?cat=839

 

[toggleswitch]

..and I refuse to don a tiara or a crown. I want this.

http://www.istok.net/home.php?cat=703

 

[toggleswitch]

freikin' defective breat-pump!

UGH Westyslantfront. Sorry about the missing letter. My apologies I spilled some milk into the keyboard and a few letters stick.