As arguments began in Mercer County Superior Court on Friday over the inequality of New Jersey’s civil union law, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), the legislature’s leading advocate for marriage equality, called on State Attorney General Paula Dow to stop defending inequality and stand up for civil rights in New Jersey.
“The state should not be spending valuable taxpayer dollars defending a law that perpetuates inequality for a whole class of people. Countless evidence shows that the civil union law has been woefully inadequate in providing equal rights for same sex couples.
“From the denial of employee benefits, to hospital rights, to the negative impact it has had on the children of same sex couples, civil unions have failed to prescribe the equal rights mandated under the original Supreme Court ruling.
“Attorney General Dow should take a cue from the Obama administration and abandon the use of taxpayer dollars to subjugate the rights of same sex couples. In 2011, in New Jersey, this type of separate, but equal mentality should not be defended by any government entity,” said Gusciora.