Asbury Park, N.J. – With a solemn exchange of vows and a kiss, Louis Navarrete and Ric Best became the first same-sex couple to marry in New Jersey.
Just hours after the ceremony, their marriage was over – not because they didn’t love each other but because the state told them their union was illegal.
Three years later, New Jersey still doesn’t allow same- sex couples to marry. But beginning Monday, it will be the third state in the nation to allow civil unions.
Many of the estimated 20,000 same-sex couples living in New Jersey view the law as a historic step in the marriage direction.
Navarrete, 45, and Best, 47, who now live in Philadelphia, say the law is an unacceptable compromise that still places gay men and women in a “less- than” category. They have no plans to move back to New Jersey to seek a civil union.
“The whole point is there’s still a huge unfairness in the system,” Navarrete said.
“It has nothing to do with going down the aisle in a white dress, but when you say the word ‘marriage,’ that’s what people think of,” Navarrete said. “It has everything to do with uniting people with equal rights.”
In October, the state Supreme Court ordered New Jersey legislators to offer gay couples all the benefits of marriage but left it up to the lawmakers what to call it. The legislature opted for “civil unions” in part because of opposition from legislators who objected on religious grounds to calling it “marriage.”
Under the new law, same- sex couples can become united as soon as Thursday because of a three-day waiting period after a civil union application is filed. Couples with valid civil unions from other states can be legally joined as of 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Vermont and Connecticut have civil union laws. Massachusetts is the only state to allow same-sex marriages.
