New Jersey
governor Jon Corzine said Tuesday that a report issued on
the first anniversary of civil unions in the state
raises "significant concerns" about whether they give
same-sex couples all the benefits and duties of
marriage by another name, as had been mandated by law,
according to The Star-Ledger.
The New Jersey
Civil Union Review on Monday released its 21-page interim
report, which illustrates that civil unions are unclear to
the general public and establish a "second-class
status" for same-sex couples, according to the paper.
"Although this is
not a final report and further evaluation remains, the
report does raise significant concerns about whether the law
has effectively granted same-sex couples the same
rights and benefits of every other family in the
state," Corzine told The Star-Ledger.
Steven Goldstein,
chairman of Garden State Equality and a member of the
commission, said that the findings only further the push for
same-sex marriage in the state. "The tide is turning,"
he said to The Star-Ledger. "There is going to
be marriage equality."
Meanwhile, the
New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage has
called for an amendment to the state constitution to define
marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution.
Corzine has
previously said that while he would sign a bill legalizing
same-sex marriage, he would wait to do so until well after
the November election in case there are any
conservative candidates who would exploit the
issue for political gain. (The Advocate)
