Socially Sanctioned Couples

Addressing the question of what types of couples should be sanctioned by society; I believe that there is no greater statement of commitment to a spouse than to ask for their hand in marriage. For Gay and Lesbians, this socially sanctioned statement of intent has been void, up until the beginnings of the Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Movement. This is when Gay and Lesbian couples began to come “Out of the Closet,” socially, to validate the very core of their being. Very soon after, gay and lesbian couples began the process of filing for legal protections for their partners, with much resistance. In places like California, and New York, domestic partner status registries became available to Gay and Lesbian couples seeking legal protections for their relationship during the late 1980’s. This was resulting from a rise of Gay and Lesbian political activism during that time in the United States in response to the A. I. D. S. Crisis. Having social agendas brought to the forefront of the consciousness of American legislators with the political activity stemming from the Gay and Lesbian civil rights movement; “Right to marry” issues emerged on the Gay political scene.

From a moral standpoint, Gay Marriage as a political agenda was very controversial because it deals with the very issues that religious fanatics point to in their attempt to suppress and denigrate Gay and Lesbians on moral grounds. Forming family bonds would negate immorality as a point of contention logically. So the issue of Gay and Lesbian civil and social rights forced the hand of what people in the United States hold primarily important as a founding creed. It was Thomas Jefferson’s hendiatris, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” which would be the rallying cry for Gay rights advocates.

In New Jersey, Civil Unions are in place, and have been since January 2007. Based on the New Jersey Supreme Court decision of October 2006, providing for equal statutory treatment of same sex couples in New Jersey by April 2007, legislatures passed a Civil Union measure with all of the rights and protections of a “Marriage.” New Jersey’s Civil Union’s were modeled after Connecticut and Vermont’s Civil Union legislation and based on the information of the votes in the NJ State House of Representatives vote approving by 59-19, and the NJ State Senate’s approval by a 23-12 margin, the Civil Union legislation was supported by the state legislature. Opinion poles taken in December 2006, conservative estimates of 60% of citizens in New Jersey supported Civil Union partnerships.