Bill Duncan from the Marriage Law Project e-mails:
The New Jersey Supreme Court has just issued its decision in the marriage
case. The court ruled 4-3 that any scheme that does not give same-sex
couples all the benefits of marriage is unconstitutional BUT stopped short
of saying that the definition of marriage must be changed. The bottom line
is that the court ordered the legislature to either (1) change the
definition of marriage or (2) “enact an appropriate statutory structure”
that is “parallel” to marriage and that would allow same-sex couples to
“enjoy the rights and benefits” and “bear the burdens and obligations of
civil marriage.”
And one of the smartest dudes out there on judicial issues preempts bad spin: “The media will try to portray this as a split victory, but the court has said that all the rights and benefits of marriage have to be made available to same-sex couples. ”