Related to the previous bit, there is progress on the same-sex marriage front in my home state of New Jersey, where Mercer County Superior Court judge Mary Jacobson last week that same-sex couples can marry in the Garden State starting October 21.Jacobson said she made her decision in light of the US Supreme Court's decision that threw out parts of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, as unconstitutional.
New Jersey does allow for civil unions, but that status still denies such couples access to a large number of federal benefits available to married couples and Jacobson said that violates the equal protection guarantees of the state constitution.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case, by-passing the appeals level. Whether or not that happens, it will get to the state Supreme Court eventually. So the ruling may still be overturned, but it may not and in either event does serve as another example to show which way the tide is running.
I've said it before: We're losing in a lot of ways, but on this one, justice is winning.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/new-jersey-gay-marriage-_n_4004723.html
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/christie-asks-to-appeal-ruling-delay-start-of-nj-gay-marriages
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