RRC Steven Goldstein has once again made news on an issue dear to his heart. Steven and his partner were the first gay couple to have their union announced in The New York Times. They have been married under a huppah and also joined in civil union in Vermont and now in New Jersey, a legal right that Steve led the fight for in his home state. I think they may have done some kind of unioin in Montreal as well. Within two years they hope to be legally married in New Jersey. I look forward to the day.
New Jersey gays make midnight dash for civil unions
Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:40 AM ET
TEANECK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross were among the first gay couples in New Jersey to be joined together in a civil union on Monday as a state law granting marriage rights to same-sex partners took effect at midnight.
"It's exciting to know that in the coming days and weeks so many couples in New Jersey will get additional rights and protection that they couldn't have had 15 minutes ago," Gross said. "It's not enough but it's a step in the right direction."
New Jersey became the third U.S. state in December 2006 to provide equal rights for same-sex couples in committed relationships known as civil unions. The state Supreme Court deferred to the legislature a decision on whether to call their relationships "marriage" and lawmakers opted to call them "civil unions."
"Marriage is the only currency of commitment the world understands," said Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay rights advocacy group, as he and Gross vowed to fight for actual marriage rights in the state instead of just civil unions.
Massachusetts is the only U.S. state to have legalized same-sex marriage, which supporters say is necessary to establish true equality for homosexual partnerships. Connecticut and Vermont have civil union laws.
Under the New Jersey law, couples must wait three days after applying before being granted a civil union license. Goldstein and Gross, however, took advantage of an exemption to the waiting period for couples who already have registered their civil union in another state.
Goldstein, 44, and Gross, 36, have been together for more then 14 years and hope to be legally married in New Jersey within the next two years.
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