NJ Commission: Civil Unions 'encourage unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children'

JackBeck

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Dec-10-08 12:05 PM
Original message

NJ Commission: Civil Unions 'encourage unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children'

by: craigkg
Wed Dec 10, 2008 at 02:52:20 AM EST

In a report due to be be released soon (http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/curc.html">10 AM here), a New Jersey commission charged with (among other things) "evaluat the implementation, operation and effectiveness of the collect information about the act's effectiveness <... and> determin whether additional protections are needed" has unanimously found New Jersey Civil Unions to be deficient in providing the protections readily availed to those married in New Jersey:

This commission finds that the separate categorization established by the Civil Union Act invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children.

The commission report has not yet been released, but the Associated Press obtained a copy of the report by the Civil Union Review Commission and http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GAY_MARRIAGE?SITE=NCBER&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">released a wire story on it. The commission was created by the Civil Union Act when it was passed and signed into law in 2007. The Civil Union Act was passed in response to the October 2006 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Lewis v Harris that required the state to "either amend the marriage statutes or enact an appropriate statutory structure within 180 days" to grant the constitutional rights bestowed by marriage for same sex couples. Since its formation, it has held several hearings and taken public testimony on nine different occasions hearing from over 150 people. It released an initial report in February and the initial conclusions of that report showed the Commission was leaning towards marriage equality finding

1. For the overwhelming majority of civil union couples who testified, the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act, commonly known by its acronym ERISA, is the reason employers have given for not recognizing their civil unions.

2. In Massachusetts, a marriage equality law has prompted many employers to provide equal benefits to same-sex wives or husbands.

3. The testimony presented by many civil union couples indicated that their employers continue to discriminate against them, despite their familiarity with the law.

4. Civil union status is not clear to the general public, which creates a second-class status.

5. The Civil Union Act has a deleterious effect on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex youth and children being raised by same-sex couples.

6. Many witnesses testified about the unequal treatment and uncertainties they face during a health care crisis, particularly in hospital settings.

7. Institutional interaction with civil union couples has been less than optimal.

8. Testimony indicates that the Civil Union Act has a particularly disparate impact on people of color.

9. The requirement that same-sex couples declare civil union status, a separate category reserved for same-sex couples, exposes members of the United States military to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

10. The classification of civil union may place marital status in question when one of the partners is transgender.

While the commission is likely to add to these findings in its final report based on testimony taken and evidence gathered since the initial report, this list of initial conclusions is not likely to be diminished in any way. Its chorus of rationale for supporting the extension of marriage equality in the Garden State is only likely to grow longer. Indeed, as stated above according to the the AP report, the final report will state "This commission finds that the separate categorization established by the Civil Union Act invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children."

The question is, when this report is finally presented to the state, what actions will the state take. While New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine is on record saying that same sex marriage "won't be on my agenda" for 2008, he also indicated that he would sign a law granting full marriage equality to same sex couples in New Jersey. Said Corzine in September of last year: "I don't know whether it's three years or five years, but in some time frame in the not so distant future I suspect that New Jersey will embrace the moniker of gay marriage or same-sex marriage." Corzine, who is up for re-election in 2009, indicated it would be a legitimate issue in the 2009 campaign for the governorship should he run. A spokesman for Corzine declined to comment on the impending release of the report.

The commission report is very likely to make same-sex marriage a major campaign issue for New Jersey's 2009 elections whether the legislature acts on it before the election or not. Whether the New Jersey Legislature will take up the issue remains to be seen. Several legislators are on record favoring marriage equality and recent polling has indicated New Jerseyans, by a margin of 58.5% to 35.5%, would be fine with public officials changing civil unions to marriage (Question text: If public officials conclude that the civil union law has not worked to provide same-sex couples the legal protections that marriage would, and that New Jersey should fix the problem by giving same-sex couples the freedom to marry, would you be fine with that or upset by that?). Support for marriage for same sex couples stood at 50.1% to 42.3% in the poll (Question text: Currently, New Jersey lets same-sex couples enter only into civil unions, while California and Massachusetts give same-sex couples the freedom to marry. Do you support or oppose same-sex couples in New Jersey also getting the freedom to marry?) and 68.5% believe, as Corzine does, that same-sex marriage in New Jersey is inevitable.

I'd encourage those New Jerseyans here on DailyKos to write your Assembly members and Senator to encourage them to support marriage equality in the upcoming session. You can find the legislators for your district on the http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp">Legislature's member search page. Apply the pressure. Make some noise. Don't let them ignore us. This is a fight we can win.

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8565

These finding by the Commission, obviously, don't come as a surprise to most of us fully vested in this issue. The question of whether or not New Jersey will become the next state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples still lingers, which is why this is a great opportunity to contact your Legislators. This is one of those moments when you can be part of the movement for change.