Teaneck, N.J. – Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples Monday as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions.
More than a dozen other couples applied for licenses for ceremonies later in the week.
The civil unions, which offer the legal benefits but not the title of marriage, were granted automatically to the hundreds of gay New Jersey couples who had previously been joined in civil unions or married in other states or nations.
Couples who had not been joined previously could apply for licenses but must wait 72 hours before they can hold civil union ceremonies, the same waiting period for weddings.
Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross reaffirmed their Vermont civil union Monday. Their New Jersey civil union license – No. 1 – was completed at 12:09 a.m.
New Jersey lawmakers hastily created civil unions in December, less than two months after a state Supreme Court decision held that gay couples had a right to the same benefits as married couples.
Supporters of gay marriage say they may sue, contending that civil unions do not create the equality the court ordered.
Some conservative groups, meanwhile, pledge to block same-sex marriage by pressing for an amendment to the state constitution. Forty-five states have laws or amendments banning same-sex marriage.
