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Article: New Jersey says gay couples have the same rights as straight couples.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- October 25, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Stevenson Swanson
NEW YORK _ In a ruling that could make New Jersey the second state to legalize gay marriage, the state supreme court said Wednesday that gay couples have the same right to the benefits of marriage as heterosexual couples.
The court, whose decision had been awaited for months by advocates on both sides of the contentious debate over same-sex unions, said the state constitution's guarantee of equal rights applied to gay and lesbian couples, but it stopped short of ordering state officials to legalize gay marriage.
Instead, it gave the legislature until April to amend the state's marriage statute to include same-sex ...