NJ Lawmakers Submits Bill to Legalize Gay Civil Marriages

Well, this is the first pass by NJ to comply with its recent Supreme Court decision that the state constitution is violated by not allowing same sex couples to marry. 

A few things from the story below bear noting:

• This is a civil document, not a religious one, churches would not be required to perform same-sex marriages if they oppose them
• The Supreme Court decision found that the giving of rights to groups selectively was where the bias lay, not in the idea of marriage itself
• That some folks want to impeach the justices for upholding the document they are meant to uphold just because they don't agree with outcome

It will be interesting to see over the next few weeks how this unfolds. The issue must be resolved within 6 months either way.

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from 365gay.com:

A same-sex marriage bill has introduced in the New Jersey Legislature despite opposition from the Assembly leadership and Gov. Jon Corzine. 

The bill fulfills a commitment by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D) following last month's state Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples must have all the rights of marriage. 

The Court gave the New Jersey State Legislature 180 days to act on the decision to grant same-sex couples the rights and benefits enjoyed by different-sex married couples but left it up to the legislators to decide whether to call it marriage or civil unions. (story)

"If you want to fulfill the spirit and the decision of the Supreme Court without creating a system of separate but equal, just any two consulting adults who want to obtain a state marriage would get a civil marriage," said Gusciora.

Called the Civil Marriage and Religious Protection Act, it opens up marriage to same-sex couples but states that churches are not required to conduct marriage ceremonies if they don't want to.

The bill would allow civil officiants to perform the ceremonies for a $50 fee that would go to property tax reform. 

The legislation has the endorsement of the state's largest LGBT rights group.

"Marriage equality in New Jersey would in no way force any religion or any member of the clergy to perform any marriage ceremony that violates their own conscience," said Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality.

The leadership in the Legislature and Gov. Corzine have said they favor civil unions, but have indicated they are in no rush to proceed with legislation despite the time limit imposed by the court. (story) 

Meanwhile a Republican lawmaker has proposed impeaching the State Supreme Court justices over the marriage ruling.

Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R) on Thursday introduced seven resolutions in the Assembly charging each state Supreme Court justice with professional misconduct, violating their oaths and contravening the state constitution.

Apart from encouraging conservatives opposed to gay marriage, the measure is unlikely to gain any traction in the Legislature.