131.2 - Good News #2: Same-sex marriage comes to New Jersey

Good News #2: Same-sex marriage comes to New Jersey

But on the other side of the country, half-steps were not on the agenda. The right of same-sex marriage has come to the great state of New Jersey.

Three weeks ago, I told you that on September 27, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson had ruled that same-sex couples could marry in the Garden State starting October 21.

New Jersey had allowed for civil unions, but that status still denied such couples access to a large number of federal benefits available to married couples. With the demise of the sections of the Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples legally married in their home states, a clear difference in treatment between civil unions and marriage emerged, one Jacobson said violates the equal protection guarantees of the state constitution. Significantly, she refused to stay the effect of her order pending a possible appeal.

So New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asked the state Supreme Court to issue a stay.

On Friday, October 18, the state Supreme Court rejected that request in a unanimous 7-0 decision. Although it was only ruling on a stay, not on the underlying case, its response pretty much settled the issue.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, writing for the court, said "same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today" as the court rejected Christie's legal arguments and emphasized he was unlikely to win if he continued to appeal Jacobson's ruling.

That, in the words of Colin Reed, speaking on behalf of Christie, "left no ambiguity about the unanimous court's view on the ultimate decision in this matter." So, at 12:01 AM on October 21, same-sex couples began marrying across New Jersey, including ones such as the nine weddings in Newark officiated by Mayor and Senator-elect Cory Booker and the three performed by a former priest in Asbury Park.

And, just hours later, the Christie administration announced it was dropping its appeal of Judge Jacobson's ruling. And that's it: The ruling stands and a10-year-long legal battle is over.

Christie, who had previously vetoed a bill to provide for same-sex marriage in the state, said in a statement that he strongly disagrees with the court substituting "its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a vote of the people" but he will follow the law.

What people like him never seem to get through their heads is that constitutional rights are not a matter of political popularity. That's why they're called "rights" rather than mere privileges.

I've addressed this in a little more detail than I normal would because New Jersey is my home state. In some ways, it still feels like home; I heard somewhere the saying "home is where your memories lie" and by that standard, yeah, New Jersey is still home. Anyway, I'm glad to see my home state moving in the right direction.

Marriage equality is still a long slog: Some 35 states have some sort of constitutional or legal restrictions on it. But 14 states and the District of Columbia now have same-sex marriage and, as is often forgotten, six more have some form of civil unions or domestic partnerships - altogether accounting for 43% of the population of the US. Less than 10 years ago, that percentage approached zero. (New York City allowed domestic partnerships in 1998; California did so in 1999 and DC in 2002; Vermont had civil unions starting in 2000. All now have full marriage equality.)

Footnote: On the same day that New Jersey began allowing same-sex couples to marry, four same-sex couples in Tennessee filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force the state to recognize their legal marriages.

These couples had been married in New York or California but upon moving to Tennessee discovered that as far as the state was concerned, their marriages had just vanished because Tennessee will not recognize them. So they are suing, claiming discrimination based on sexual orientation, violation of due process and the right to travel without having one's rights taken away, and denial of equal protection under the law. Will it get anywhere? Who knows? But again, just 10 years ago the answer likely would have been clear.

Sources:
http://whoviating.blogspot.com/2013/10/1282-good-news-2-same-sex-marriage.html
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/christie_withdraws_appeal_of_gay_marriage_ruling.html#incart_m-rpt-1
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/gay-couples-wed-as-nj-recognizes-nuptials/3141655/
http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2013/10/mayor_cory_booker_officiates_f.html
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/21/retired_catholic_priest_officiates_midnight_vows_for_gay_couples_in_new_jersey/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/21/christie-gay-marriage-appeal_n_4135867.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_union
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/gay-marriage-tennessee-lawsuit/3145541/