The New Jersey Supreme Court believes that homosexuals have the same rights at heterosexuals.
Good for them! Imagine all of us having equal rights!
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that homosexuals deserve the same rights as heterosexuals, but the state Legislature must decide whether to give same-sex couples the right to legally “marry” or create civil unions.
“The Court holds that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed same-sex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes,” the court said in its ruling.
The Legislature now has 180 days to address the issue. It has two options: amend the marriage statues to include same-sex couples, or “create a separate statutory structure, such as a civil union.”
“The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to same-sex couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process,” the court said.
“At this point, the Court does not consider whether committed same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, but only whether those couples are entitled to the same rights and benefits afforded to married heterosexual couples,” it said.
