NJ Civil Unions Bill Advances Over Gay Protests   by 365Gay.com from the Web, Dec 11, 2006

Trenton, New Jersey -- The New Jersey Senate Judiciary committee room was packed with same-sex couples Monday, more than a dozen of them testifying that a proposed civil unions bill is unacceptable because it is less than full marriage.

Joining them were law professors and members of the New Jersey bar who also support same-sex marriage.

But despite the objections the committee voted in favor of the proposed bill in an 8 - 2 vote.  It now advances to the Senate floor for a full vote.

The legislation passed a key House committee late last week.

It is likely the measure will become law before the end of the year.

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in October that same-sex couples should have access to the same rights and benefits as married couples.  Whether to call those rights marriages, civil unions or something else was left up to lawmakers.

Lambda Legal, the organization representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit which resulted in the New Jersey Supreme Court decision in October, said the measure is moving too fast for justice to prevail.

"The latest Quinnipiac poll showed that more New Jerseyans favor marriage equality than in earlier polling, closing in on fifty percent, and now the New Jersey State Bar Association has voted to oppose the civil union bill and support the marriage equality bill," said Lambda attorney David Buckel, the lead attorney on the New Jersey marriage lawsuit.

"Each day that goes by, more people favor equality and justice.  The legislature is not taking the time it needs to consider this issue -- it is rushing to the wrong side of history.  The Judiciary Committee today did not even listen to any testimony from couples whose lives will be directly affected by the outcome of their vote."

Lambda and Garden State Equality, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in New Jersey, are backing a bill that would grant full marriage to same-sex couples.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora's marriage equalization bill which would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.  The bill by the openly gay Democrat has not received the endorsement of party leadership.  Democrats control both houses in New Jersey.

Republican lawmakers, a minority in the legislature, are pushing two separate bills.  One would expand the state's domestic partner law to include not only gays, but also siblings and others involved in "interdependent relationships".

The second is a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would bar same-sex marriage.  Neither measure is expected to advance.