Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders said today’s New Jersey Supreme Court ruling opens the door to ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples in the state.  All seven of the Court’s justices found a constitutional violation in denying same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage.  Four of the justices said that the legislature must take the next step in deciding how best to end the discrimination.

Mary Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and lead attorney in Goodridge, the case that resulted in marriage equality in Massachusetts, said today:

"We call on New Jersey legislature to do the simplest, fairest, and most sensible thing, which is to include gay and lesbian couples within the existing legal framework of civil marriage.  Marriage confers on relationships the dignity and respect that no other status does.

"New Jersey can look at the Massachusetts experience: more than 8500 couples have married here, and large majorities of the public and the legislature now embrace marriage equality.  Over the past two years, those couples have experienced the same challenges others do in daily life – births, taxes, and in some cases, death – and marriage has made it all easier for them. Not only has the sky stayed in place over Massachusetts, there’s been an outbreak of happiness statewide

"Our congratulations go to the people of New Jersey, the courageous couples who brought this case, and our colleagues at Lambda Legal. We fully expect that six months from now, there will be marriage equality in New Jersey."

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and HIV status. GLAD is active in all six New England states.

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