It is the job of New Jersey lawmakers to decide if gay couples will receive equal rights via marriage or another form of civil union.

HELD: Denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. The Court holds that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed samesex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to samesex couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process.

Read the full pdf of the syllabus prepared by the Office of the Clerk HERE.

The New Jersey Supreme Court opinion page is HERE.

From NJ court stops short of gay marriage OK: “New Jersey’s highest court ruled Wednesday that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals, but that lawmakers must determine whether the state will honor gay marriage or some other form of civil union.”

The New York Times and CNN choose to highlight the bright side in their article titles:

NYT: “N.J. Court Backs Rights for Gay Unions”

CNN: “New Jersey court recognizes right to same-sex unions”

ETA: If you only read one other post about this ruling, it should be this one over at AMERICAblog.

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