A Civil Union Review Commission unanimously concluded Wednesday that New Jersey's two-year-old civil union law doesn't do enough to give gay couples the same protections as heterosexual married couples.
"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 report says.
The report compared denying same-sex couples the right to marry to racial segregation laws imposed against African-Americans.
The commission found that the rights afforded to those in civil unions were not always well understood, and that allowing gay couples to marry would alleviate the problem. For example, there have been instances when people in civil unions have been prevented from visiting their partners in hospitals and making medical decisions on their behalf, the commission found.
Additionally, the commission found "significant psychological damage" to the children raised by same-sex couples because their families are given the stigmatizing label of civil union, and gay couples were denied health insurance by their employers.
Gov. Jon Corzine, realizing the economic impact gay marriages would have on the state (more than $250 mil a year), says "it's clear that this issue of civil rights must be addressed sooner rather than later."
Equality for all!
"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 report says.
The report compared denying same-sex couples the right to marry to racial segregation laws imposed against African-Americans.
The commission found that the rights afforded to those in civil unions were not always well understood, and that allowing gay couples to marry would alleviate the problem. For example, there have been instances when people in civil unions have been prevented from visiting their partners in hospitals and making medical decisions on their behalf, the commission found.
Additionally, the commission found "significant psychological damage" to the children raised by same-sex couples because their families are given the stigmatizing label of civil union, and gay couples were denied health insurance by their employers.
Gov. Jon Corzine, realizing the economic impact gay marriages would have on the state (more than $250 mil a year), says "it's clear that this issue of civil rights must be addressed sooner rather than later."
Equality for all!
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