New Jersey gives legal rights to same-sex couples

TRENTON, N.J. – Domestic partners, including same-sex couples, will soon be eligible for many of the same legal rights as those legally married.
The state Senate voted 23-9 to approve a bill granting those rights and Gov. James E. McGreevey signed the measure into law Jan. 12.
Gay and lesbian advocates campaigned to make New Jersey the fifth state to recognize domestic partners. Conservative and religious groups opposed the measure, saying it threatened traditional marriage values.
Under the legislation, domestic partners would get access to medical benefits, insurance and other legal rights. The bill does not authorize gay marriage, which is against the law in New Jersey.
The bill would not force businesses to offer health coverage to same-sex partners of employees but would require insurance companies to make it available. It would also allow a surviving partner to gain property rights and other survivors' benefits.
The measure also includes some benefits for domestic unions between unmarried heterosexual couples age 62 and over.
In November, a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by seven gay couples that sought to make same-sex unions legally recognized in New Jersey.
The judge ruled that there is nothing in the state Constitution that guarantees same-sex unions as a right and said the appropriate forum to change marriage laws is the Legislature.
Although she rejected arguments made in the lawsuit, Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg urged state lawmakers to take action that would give gay couples rights that other states have granted.
The ruling is being appealed by Lambda Legal, the advocacy group that argued the case for the couples.