On October 25 2006 the highest court in New Jersey announced its decision to grant the same civil rights, in relation to marriage, to gay and lesbian couples as are granted to heterosexual couples in the state. The court ruled that gay and lesbians are entitled to the same civil liberties as other state residents. However, the court has left the finalizing of the measure to state legislators who can either decide to call the joining of homosexuals “marriage” or create an alternate, parallel system. At present Massachusetts grants full marriage rights to gays and lesbians while Connecticut, California, and Vermont have created “separate but equal” arrangements, which they have titled civil unions.
Although the LGBT community should celebrate this victory, the war for equal rights is far from over. It is difficult to miss the relationship between the “separate but equal” treatment of gays in relation to marriage and the “separate but equal” treatment of African-Americans in relation to public services. In 1896 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Plessy vs. Ferguson that segregation was not a discriminatory measure. Therefore, African-Americans were subjected to “equal” but “separate” accommodations and services. The “equal” but “separate” treatment of African-Americans was anything but. In 1954 through the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education the notion of “separate but equal” was overturn.
Although states, such as California, would like to continue the façade, stating that civil unions are “separate but equal” to marriages, in reality they are not. A simple example will prove this point. Norwalk, CA is the city where the superior court for Los Angeles is located. At this superior court location people can get marriage and death certificates, file DBAs, and sign civil union documents.
Many people would ask what this has to do with gay marriage. The death certificates and marriage license are located together on the bottom floor; however, gays and lesbians have to file civil unions in the same location as DBAs. If gay and lesbian “civil unions” are actually “separate but equal” why than is the filing for civil unions located upstairs while the marriage certificates are located downstairs? Are gay and lesbian unions a business? Are heterosexual civil marriages something other than a business? Although this may seem a minor example to some, the example speaks loud and clear to the respect that state governments actually hold for the notion of “separate but equal” rights in relation to marriage. New Jersey courts have made a brave move in the direction of human rights. However, it will be interesting to see what NJ lawmakers do to uphold civil equality or to stifle human progress.