Civil Unions An All Around Failure

by: Juan Melli

Wed Jul 18, 2007 at 04:50:41 PM EDT

The New Jersey Civil Unions Review Commission met today for the second time. According to the state, 1,359 couples have civil unionated in the five months since the law went into effect. During that time, Garden State Equality has received complaints from 191 civil unionized couples whose employers have refused to recognized their civil union. Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality, commented on the nearly nearly 1 in 7 failure rate.

"What society would tolerate a law's failing 1 in 7 times? If New Jersey's Civil Unions Law were a person, it would be arrested for committing fraud."

Not only does this discriminatory law fail the couples it was supposed to protect, it's also failing our already financially strapped state.

The refusal to pass true marriage equality legislation represents a lost economic opportunity for New Jersey. While the state must provide civil union couples the same benefits (tax, medical, etc) as straight married couples, it misses out on the economic boom that would result from allowing gays to marry. A UCLA study found that "revenue from weddings and wedding tourism alone would add nearly $103 million per year in business to the state for at least the next few years."

The law already says that gay couples deserve the same rights as straight couples. It's just not working, and changing one simple word could fix that, while giving the economy a badly needed boost. Our legislators should ask themselves: Is holding the word "marriage" hostage worth giving up $500 million?

Juan Melli :: Civil Unions An All Around Failure

Tags: Civil Unions, marriage equality, (All Tags)

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Civil Unions An All Around Failure | 2 comments

I agree (4.00 / 1)

... wholeheartedly. Although I am sure the problems are underreported. Since civil unions are relatively new, many couples have not had that emergency or other event that would trigger a complaint.

I'd encourage anyone in a civil union who supports equality to fill out insurance forms, etc., and make sure they are really covered. When problems arise, report them immediately. Unfortunately, heterosexuals can't enter into a civil union, or there'd be yet another avenue to support equality.

by: dfa_lewis @ Wed Jul 18, 2007 at 16:18:40 PM CDT

The legislature has added to their workload (0.00 / 0)

Not only does this discriminatory law fail the couples it was supposed to protect, it's also failing our already financially strapped state.

Another failure of this law is the misinformation it spread: I've talked to too many people who pay attention to civic issues who think civil unions are equal to marriage. They think it's just a different term for same sex couples that carries all the rights and benefits.

The legislature not only has to revisit the issue and pass marriage equality, but they also have to undo the damage they did in public's mind in furthering the idea that civil unions is an equal form to marriage.

Ugh.

by: JRB @ Wed Jul 18, 2007 at 18:50:49 PM CDT