At least 219 gay
couples applied to join in civil unions during the first
month the legal institution was available in New Jersey, a
state agency said in a report issued Tuesday.
Civil unions
offer gay couples the legal benefits of marriage--but
not the title. New Jersey lawmakers created the
institution last December in response to a state
supreme court ruling two months earlier that said it
was unconstitutional to deny gay couples access to the
protections of marriage.
New Jersey's
civil unions law took effect February 19. The data reported
Tuesday by the state Health and Senior Services Department
covers the period from then until March 19. The data
may not be complete, since some counties might not
have yet submitted their records and some couples may
have applied for licenses but have not yet joined.
The number was
far smaller than activists had expected. By comparison,
about 500 gay and lesbian couples registered on the day New
Jersey's domestic-partnership law went into effect in
2004. That law was simpler to take advantage of but
offered only a handful of the benefits extended in the
civil union law.
The difference
may be a result of couples hoping that they will be
allowed to marry in the next few years, said Steven
Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay
political advocacy group.
In the United
States, only Massachusetts allows gay couples to marry.
Vermont and Connecticut also have civil unions, and
California has domestic partnerships that offer
benefits similar to the civil unions.
Gay rights
advocates in New Jersey are promising to keep pushing for
the right to marry, while some social conservatives
are campaigning to amend the state constitution to ban
same-sex marriage.
Civil unions can
be officiated by judges, mayors, or clergy--the same
people authorized to perform weddings.
The legal
benefits include the right to file taxes jointly,
inheritance and adoption rights, and the ability to
make medical decisions on a partner's behalf. However,
the federal government and most states do not
recognize the unions. (AP)
