Civil union isn't enough

Civil union isn't enough

NJ Star-Ledger EditorialTuesday, July 10, 2007

"During the debate in the New Jersey Legislature last fall over granting gay and lesbian couples the same benefits as heterosexual couples, much was made about what to call a partnership of two men or two women. Should it be labeled a marriage, a civil union or something else?

Lawmakers, hoping to avoid controversy, took the easy way out by concluding that the language really didn't matter. In sum, they decided to vote for gay marriage but call it by some other name. But it turns out that this other name, civil union, is a problem -- and will continue to be.

In a society of laws, definitions matter, and New Jersey's civil union law -- on the books for five months -- does not define those involved in a domestic partnership or civil union as spouses...