Same-sex couples sign up for official unions
Area mayors say they have no problem performing ceremonies
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

Since the same-sex civil union law took effect Feb. 20, couples throughout the region are signing up to be officially recognized by the state as a couple.

Local mayors who perform wedding ceremonies said they see civil unions as all in a day's work.

Though individuals are required to apply for a license in the town where they live, the ceremony can take place in the municipality of their choice. Couples are also able to choose who they would like to perform the ceremony from available parties in the town, such as the mayor or a judge.

"I am a mayor, it's what I do," Old Bridge Mayor Jim Phillips said. "This is just another civil ceremony to me. This is just another way of serving."

A ceremony this week was to be the town's first civil union. In a normal week, Phillips said, he conducts three to four wedding ceremonies.

"We were one of the first to grant health benefits to people who declared themselves as life partners, so this is the next logical step," Phillips said. "We have all different types of families."

The law, which was signed by Gov. Jon Corzine in December, allows same-sex couples to have most of the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples, including the right to count their partner for the purposes of family leave, joint ownership of property and hospital visitation rights.

Not included among the new rights provided by the law is the ability to call one's partner a spouse or the relationship a marriage. This is because the civil union was set up to be a legal entity that, while theoretically equal to marriage in every way, is still considered separate from it.

"They say, 'a rose by any other name,' " Milltown Mayor Gloria Bradford said.

The creation of this parallel institution alongside marriage was the solution envisioned by the state Legislature, which was ordered by the state Supreme Court to grant same-sex couples all the same legal rights and responsibilities that heterosexual married couples enjoy.

"I was elected to uphold all the laws in the state of New Jersey," Bradford said, "and I feel that if elected officials start to pick and choose which laws they're going to uphold and which laws they're not going to uphold, then they're not doing their job."

According to Bradford, there have been a couple of inquiries in town regarding civil unions, but as of earlier this week no appointments had been made.

In East Brunswick, one same-sex couple had signed up for a civil union, and the ceremony was scheduled to be performed by Municipal Court Judge Todd Mayor, according to the township clerk's office. A representative of Mayor William Neary's office said he has not yet been asked to perform a civil union, but noted the town has created a ceremony to be used and is prepared for anyone who signs up.

Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O'Brien will not be required by law to perform civil union ceremonies, as neither he nor the judge in town currently conducts marriage ceremonies. Couples in the town who wish to be joined civilly must obtain a license there, but they must bring in their own officiator.

"It's not something I do as a mayor, so it's not something I have an opinion on," O'Brien said.

In Jamesburg, no civil unions have been applied for as of yet, according to Mayor Tony LaMantia.

"I'm doing it as part of being mayor," he said. "That's part of my duties as being a mayor."

Monroe Township has received one inquiry, but nothing has been set, Mayor Richard Pucci said.

"I do marriages, and I'll be doing civil unions if requested," Pucci said. "I don't have any problem with performing the ceremony at all."

Pucci said the township is in the process of drafting a ceremony specifically for civil unions, using models sent from the state.

The court order came to the Legislature as a result of the case Lewis v. Harris, where seven same-sex couples, including Sarah and Suyin Lael of South Brunswick, and Karen and Marcye Nicholson-MacFadden of Aberdeen, asked their respective hometowns for marriage licenses and were subsequently denied. The case, which was decided in October in favor of the couples, determined that their rights had been violated.

While equal legal standing has been established at the state level, a whole host of other benefits collected at the federal level are still denied. This is because the federal government's current policy does not recognize same-sex unions, so things that heterosexual married couples have access to, such as pension, Social Security and certain health benefits, are still inaccessible.

Recognition of a civil union varies from state to state, making moving to another state a risky proposition for some couples.