NJ Courts: Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry!

The NJ Courts today ruled that,

same-sex couples are entitled to “the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes.”

In your face, bigotry!  The court leaves it to the legislature whether these unions would actually be called ‘marriages’ but it gives them six months to enact enabling legislation.  There were some that were unhappy with the ruling however,

Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the gay-rights group Garden State Equality, said the court’s decision was disappointing.

“Those who would view today’s ruling as a victory for same sex couples are dead wrong,” he said. “Half-steps short of marriage — like New Jersey’s domestic-partnership law and also civil union laws — don’t work in the real world.”

I don’t know if I feel the same way.  I don’t know if I understand what the point of not calling them ‘marriages’ is – if it is the exact same thing does it really matter what it is called?  I’m not convinced that it does.  If there is no difference – I’m sure it will upset the bigots just as much as it would if it were called marriage.

Anyway, I view this ruling as a step in the right direction.  Here’s a link to the NYT article.