Same-Sex Couple Files Suit Asking for Marriage Rights in New Jersey

[Hissyspit]

Source: Bloomberg

@BloombergNews: Same-sex couple files suit asking for marriage rights in New Jersey | http://t.co/vkNkQGyzCh

New Jersey Should Allow Gay Marriage, State Court Is Told

By David Voreacos
July 03, 2013 4:09 PM EDT 13 Comments

New Jersey’s civil-union law doesn’t go far enough to protect legal rights of gay couples, and a judge should rule that same-sex couples can marry, a national advocacy group argued in a court filing.

Lambda Legal, representing supporters of gay marriage, urged a judge to “order that New Jersey allow same-sex couples to marry,” according to the state court motion today in Trenton. The group, which has litigated the question for a decade, has new momentum after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 struck down a U.S. law denying federal benefits to same-sex married couples.
“State-sanctioned marriage provides the key to the full array of federal marital benefits,” according to the motion. “The discrimination manifest in relegating same-sex couples to civil union establishes the clearest possible violation of the state constitutional guarantee” of equal rights and benefits.

The challenge comes as advocates seek to use the Supreme Court ruling to expand the number of states where gay marriage is legal. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage. In New Mexico, the American Civil Liberties Union said today that it asked the state Supreme Court to rule on whether same-sex couples can marry.

In New Jersey, state Democratic lawmakers are seeking to override Governor Chris Christie’s veto of a same-sex marriage bill passed last year. Christie, a Republican, said marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-03/new-jersey-should-allow-gay-marriage-state-court-is-told.html

[SoapBox]

1. I SO hope that this sticks in the craw of Christie.

...the asshole.

It would be so funny if Christie's anti-marriage stance, could be brought down.

[idwiyo]

2. K&R It might be another long fight but it will prevail. Shame it has to be this way. Real shame.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Let the lawsuits begin!!

[FreeState]

4. There asking for summery Judgement - more info here:

http://equalityontrial.com/2013/07/01/marriage-equality-gay-new-jersey-lambda-legal-court-case/

Last week, Lambda Legal announced a plan to file a motion for summary judgment in the New Jersey Superior Court on behalf of Garden State Equality, a New Jersey LGBT rights organization, and seven same-sex couples in an outstanding case that argues the state’s regime of civil unions but not marriage equality constitutes an unequal and unconstitutional abridgment of LGBT New Jerseyans’ rights. From Lambda Legal’s press release:

“The demise of DOMA Section 3 means that New Jersey’s marriage discrimination is all that bars same-sex couples and their families from the full range of federal rights, benefits, and protections. With this new legal landscape, New Jersey’s same-sex couples and their children need swift action,” said Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director.

“In Lambda Legal’s original New Jersey marriage case, Lewis v. Harris, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that it is unconstitutional to give same-sex couples lesser rights than different-sex couples. In 2013, after the defeat of DOMA, there is nothing left to debate – couples in civil unions are not being treated equally under the law.”
If the motion for summary judgment is approved, the case could be decided without any need for a trial or for further oral arguments.

As ThinkProgress notes, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in 2006 in a case called Lewis v. Harris that “the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state constitution.” In that decision, the court ordered the state legislature to remedy the situation within 180 days. A few months later, the legislature passed a civil unions laws and also established the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, which was tasked with evaluating civil unions to determine whether they provided the same rights and protections as marriages....

The Commission found civil unions didn't provide the same rights and protections saying, “the separate categorization established by the Civil Union Act invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children.”

(This is not a new case, its been in the system for a while and has potential to move quickly).

[FreeState]

5. Post-DOMA Marriage Equality lawsuits filed in FL, AR , UT, TX, OK, NV, MI, IL, HI, NJ

Post-DOMA Marriage Equality lawsuits filed in FL, AR , UT, TX, OK, NV, MI, IL, HI, NJ... I'm sure there will be more too

[Tx4obama]

7. New Mexico

ACLU and others seek to legalize same-sex marriage in New Mexico
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/03/aclu-and-others-seek-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage-in-new-mexico/

[obama2terms]

6. Annnnnnnnnd

Let the Dominos fall!