Civil union bill clears committee

The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Monday that would establish civil unions for same-sex couples, bringing New Jersey one step closer to becoming the fourth state in the nation to formally recognize gay unions.

The bill, which passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee with an 8-2 vote, defines "civil unions" as legally recognized unions of "two eligible individuals of the same sex," who shall receive "the same benefits and protections and be subject to the same responsibilities as spouses in a marriage."

In addition to establishing civil unions, the bill revises current marriage laws, altering the existing language to include references to both marriages and civil unions. An identical bill was also advanced in committee in the state Assembly last Friday.

The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday, and the Senate may also vote soon. Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has publicly announced his support of civil unions and has indicated that he will sign the legislation if it passes both houses.

Legislators were quick to draw fire on campus, not only from opponents of gay unions but also from supporters who argue that the current bill doesn't go far enough to promote the rights of gay couples.

Princeton Justice Project member Scott Weingart '09 argued that the current bill was the product of political motivations, not a sincere effort to do what was in the public interest.

"If they actually voted their conscience instead of listening to [counsel], then we'd have a marriage bill," he said. "Marriage is the currency that everybody in society accepts and civil unions may not be and probably won't be."

But Sherif Girgis '08, president of the Anscombe Society, a socially conservative group, rejected that line of reasoning, criticizing the legislature for leaving "a distinction in name only" between marriage and civil unions.

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Girgis finds that "it really does seem arbitrary to favor sexual activity" as the defining characteristic of civil unions, while "codependent relatives who wouldn't normally have visitation rights and who would benefit from that" receive no such legal recognition.

The legislative action comes in response to an Oct. 25 mandate by the New Jersey Supreme Court declaring the state's existing domestic partnership laws insufficient given the equal protection and liberty guarantees of the state constitution. It gave the state legislature 180 days to revise laws to include provisions for same-sex civil unions, marriage or some other "parallel statutory structure."

In the case, Lewis v. Harris, seven same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses sued the state, challenging the constitutionality of the state's marriage statutes.

The court stated that "committed same-sex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes."

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The PJP wrote and submitted an amicus brief, approved by the USG after a student referendum, to the state Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case. Anscombe responded with its own amicus brief opposing any change.

In addition to civil unions, the bill, if passed, would establish the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission. The group would report on the financial and societal effects of such unions, leaving open the question of whether the state should reconsider backing gay marriage.

PJP members were out seeking support in Frist Campus Center today, asking students to call Princeton's state senator Shirley Turner and express their support for gay marriage.

But ultimately, the bill "is a great step over what we have now," Weingart said, noting that domestic partnership does not provide equal rights. "Anything that supports rights is still a victory over the status quo."