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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Booker answers the referendum argument
Newark Mayor Corey Booker offered a rejoinder to Gov. Chris Christie's call for a public referendum on marriage equality that should put an end to the argument once and for all.
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I'm confident this will not put an end to the argument once and for all. Wishful thinking.
Booker's heart is in the right place, but his facts are wrong. Same sex partners in a civil union do inherit from each other even without wills. Federal recognition of same sex marriage, by Social Security, the IRS, or Immigration, for example, will depend on repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, not on whether the term "marriage" is used instead of "civil union". It may make it easier to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act if more states avoid offending religious groups by using the term "marriage" and instead using an analogous status such as "civil union" or "domestic partnership", both of which exist in New Jersey. However, many same sex couples regard the terms civil union and domestic partnership as inherently unequal, and it can lead to confusion.
New Jersey recognizes same sex marriages from NY, CT, and MA, any of which marries nonresidents, so marriage is available to same sex couples from NJ. It is a complicated issue. The politics are even more confusing. Senator Sweeney seems to feel very strongly on all sides of the issue.
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