Lackluster Enthusiasm for NJ Civil Unions

Preliminary numbers released on March 20 demonstrate low support for the recent enactment of civil unions in New Jersey. In stark contrast with Connecticut, Vermont, and even New Jersey domestic partnership registration, only 229 New Jersey couples have sought civil unions during the first three months of its legal commencement. Officials note that this number represents a mere 1% of same-sex couples who reside in New Jersey.

Apparently, the era of enthusiasm for civil unions, if there ever truly was one, is quickly dying out. When asked why he and his partner of 17 years chose not to register for a civil union, Charles Paragian stated in the New York Times, ''I don't want my children to learn to settle for anything… it’s a Jim Crow law, it's two separate water fountains, it's not equal, we just don't agree with it" (Couples Not Rushing to Civil Unions in NJ). Gay rights advocates hum a similar tune. Or, rather, blast it. In New Jersey, especially, civil unions were an extreme disappointment to those fighting for same-sex marriage. While the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that homosexual relationships should be given all the same legal rights as their heterosexual counterparts, it turned over the ability to name the decision "marriage" to the legislature. Classically, the legislature denied marriage and established civil unions.

Lambda Legal and Garden State Equality have begun to hint at mobilization toward litigation, which would lead to a challenge of civil unions in the state. Stephen Goldstein, head of Garden State Equality, claims that over twenty couples registered by civil unions have been routinely discriminated against, saying:

''Hospitals, employers, and other institutions will say, 'We don't care what the law says, you are not married’…word is starting to spread that the civil union law is in fact not working to provide couples with the protection that only the word marriage can.''

Only a couple of original plaintiffs of the case for marital equality in New Jersey have filed for civil unions. Cindy Meneghin and her partner, Maureen Kilian, still argue that civil unions are like the "Bermuda Triangle of relationships", noting that "you can maybe pass through without any harm, but wait until you disappear".

The battle for same-sex marriage in New Jersey and elsewhere indicates a strange combination of the Madisonian system of government. For example, on the state level, the New Jersey Supreme Court told the legislature that it would need to endow same-sex relationships with equal legal rights - however, the courts left implementation to the legislature. In addition, even full state marriage rights do not mean full equality because of the relationship between the federal and state government on the issue of marriage. However, it can be sure that the fight for same-sex marriage will be picking up speed as legal precedents for same-sex equality become established throughout the nation.