New Jersey Same legal Protection
For Gay couples thats is…
(AP) TEANECK, N.J. - Hundreds of gay couples received the same legal protections as married couples early Monday when a law making New Jersey the third state in the nation to offer civil unions took effect.
The civil unions - which offer the legal benefits but not the title of marriage - were granted automatically to the hundreds of gay New Jersey couples who have been joined in civil unions or married in other states or nations.
At least one couple held a ceremony at the first possible moment. Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross reaffirmed their Vermont civil union shortly after midnight. They would have had the rights in New Jersey even without holding a midnight ceremony here.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a prime sponsor of the civil unions law who hosted ceremonies for couples including Goldstein and Gross in her office, called the day “a big giant step forward.”
A handful of town halls across the state also opened at 12:01 a.m. to accept civil union license applications from couples who had not been so joined previously. They must wait 72 hours before they can hold civil union ceremonies, and several plan to exchange vows early Thursday. READ ON……….
