Word: jerseyed
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...recognizing that gay marriage is a fundamental right, we can only hope that individual states will employ the most expedient means to legalize same-sex marriages. That New Jersey is making progress is certainly admirable, but that it forfeited the opportunity to solidify complete legal equality in name and content through legislative action is unfortunate...
...shift in culture. The handful of other states that have made progress on the issue of gay marriage have all done so through judicial recourse—Vermont and Massachusetts being notable examples. But conservative opponents have lambasted such rulings as undemocratic legislation from the bench. Had the New Jersey legislature acted promptly, no such attack could have been launched against this measure. Instead, its inaction forced the issue before the bench, which yielded a decision that stands vulnerable to criticism as it lacks the force of a public appeal of a democratic bill...
...recognized as its own substantive fundamental right, a right grounded in our nation’s conception of equality—and it’s the duty of the courts to uphold those rights when a legislature fails to. While we are unequivocally glad that the New Jersey Court unanimously agreed on the equality of rights, we cannot help but lament its refusal to make same-sex marriage equal in both name and content. Its decision to defer to the legislature on the question of nomenclature threatens to undermine the minority whom it is the judiciary?...
...Although there were more states making this choice in 2004, the New Jersey Supreme Court"s October ruling that the state must give gay couples the same legal rights as straight couples has brought more attention to the upcoming votes. But some say it won"t make a difference in the minds of voters who are convinced one way or the other...
...sure [the New Jersey ] decision will have much impact in changing the voting," says Pamela Johnston Conover, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But she warns that how voters do choose, based on the language on the ballots, could have a far-reaching effect effect on legal rights for same-sex couples. "Most of the ballots have components that go beyond the marriage issue. If passed, they have the potential to have a more wide-sweeping impact on gay and lesbian couples than the ballot initiatives that only look at same...