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A terror unlike the usual terrors

This Just In

Gay marriage spreads to New Jersey, with caution

The New Jersey decision differs from the Bay State’s in one major respect. Rather than decree that marriage itself must be available to all, gay and straight alike, the New Jersey court sent the matter back to the legislature with instructions that it adopt legislation either to include gays within the current marriage statutes or to enact a “parallel statutory structure” guaranteeing the same rights and responsibilities as civil marriage. “Although courts can ensure equal treatment,” wrote the majority, “they cannot guarantee social acceptance.” Such acceptance will have to be debated by the people’s “popularly elected representatives,” concluded the court. Still, the New Jersey court reserved the ultimate right to review the legislature’s justification for any gay-union scheme that falls short of marriage. That bodes well for the future, since all seven justices voted for gay civil unions at the very least, while three favored going further and, following Goodridge, judicially decreeing gay marriage — period.

Here at “Freedom Watch,” we would have a hard time accepting legislation that stops short of calling gay unions “marriage,” even if all the same tangible benefits were granted (see “Name Game: The Inequality of Civil Union,” News and Features, December 12, 2003). The New Jersey court has left this final detail, at least for now, to the state legislature. Regardless, it’s still a stunning triumph for legal equality.

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