Courts & Tribunals

On 23 December 2009, Superior Court Judge Francis Schultz ruled Angelia Robinson, who bore twins conceived in a lab using eggs from an anonymous donor and sperm from Sean Hollingsworth, the husband of Robinson's brother, Donald Robinson Hollingsworth, is the legal mother, despite not being genetically related to the children [R1.2].

On 11 March 2003, Family Court Judge James A. Farber ruled that both women in a lesbian couple can be listed as parents on the birth certificate of the baby [R1.1].

One woman was carrying the child, and her partner provided the egg. The women will share a financial obligation to the child, and if one parent dies, the other will have custody.

Courts & Tribunals

On 09 August 2012, Superior Court Judge Mary Thurber allowed gay father Anthony Galde and his son to move to Georgia over the objections of Richard Rinko, the boy's other father, who contends his parental rights will be jeopardized by the move to a state that does not recognize same-sex adoptions [R1.4].

On 13 December 2011, Hudson County Superior Court judge Francis Schultz ruled in favor of SH the biological father in a gay relationship with D.R.H., in a contentious custody battle over 5-year-old twin girls and against the surrogate mother, finding the couple had provided a stable environment for the children and, in the best interests of the children, should be granted full custody, with parenting time allowed the surrogate mother [C1.3], [R1.2].

On 23 December 2009, Superior Court Judge Francis Schultz ruled Angelia Robinson, who bore twins conceived in a lab using eggs from an anonymous donor and sperm from Sean Hollingsworth, the husband of Robinson's brother, Donald Robinson Hollingsworth, is the legal mother, despite not being genetically related to the children [R1.1].

State

Starting 01 July 2004, New Jersey's new domestic partnership law takes effect, giving gay couples the right to hospital visitations, make medical decisions for each other and to file joint state tax returns [R1.5].

In 2007, the law was expanded offering registered same-sex partners most or all rights of marriage [C1.4] [R1.4].

To obtain domestic partnership benefits, same-sex couples would have to show they live together and provide proof of joint financial or property ownership. They could also name a partner as a beneficiary in a will or retirement plan.

Same-sex partnerships granted in other states will be honored by New Jersey. The law will also provide legal benefits for unmarried heterosexual couples over age 62.

Couples will be able to register for partnership status at any municipal office in the state. To end a partnership, a divorce-like proceeding in the Superior Court is required.

Previously

In December 2003, two Assembly panels approved the legislation to extend the benefits [R1.3].

In October 2002, Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) proposed to introduce a Bill that would, if passed, sanction virtually all of the legal benefits that marriage allows [R1.2].

Gov. McGreevey supported legislation that would provide domestic partner benefits and protections [R1.2].

In January 2008, a study designed to assess the effectiveness of the civil union law in New Jersey found that many companies in the state that are self-insured and regulated by federal laws, refused to provide health insurance to their employee's same-sex partners. They also found that same-sex couples in Massachusetts, the only US state that allows same-sex marriage, did not suffer the same discrimination [R1.1].

County

Gloucester County is believed to offer non-health benefits [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 10 May 2010, Garden State Equality, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Social Workers, the Family Equality Council, COLAGE, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, filed a brief in support of the motion Lambda Legal filed in March seeking marriage equality [C3.5] [R3.5].

In July 2009, the 3rd U.S. circuit court of appeals in Philadelphia said the lower court rightly dismissed the suit filed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which tried to stop same-sex unions on its pavilion. However, the appeals court directed the district court to make a broader ruling on whether the meeting association and Methodist Church, which owns the pavilion and all of the property in Ocean Grove, can legally ban the unions [R3.4].

In December 2008, a judge ruled that barring a lesbian couple from holding a civil ceremony on the property of a church group was in violation of the public accommodation provisions of the states anti-discrimination laws [R3.3].

On 10 January 2008, a same-sex couple sought dissolution of their domestic partnership "on the grounds of irreconcilable differences" in the New Jersey Superior Court, Family Division. The court ordered the dissolution and divided the couple's property. The court said it was applying "old principles to new situations" and suggested "the terminology needs to be redefined, or if not redefined, then perhaps defined in the old sense, and applied to these parties. And perhaps, to that extent, both the Courts and the legislature will catch up to us at some point" [R3.2].

In October 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that denying rights and benefits to committed same-sex couples that are statutorily given to their heterosexual counterparts violates the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 [C3.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In April 2010, US district court Judge Joel Pisano ruled that stating someone is gay, regardless of whether the person is, cannot be considered slanderous [R1.1].

The Judge said that because a 2006 case that said civil unions would be treated equally to marriages, "it appears unlikely that the New Jersey Supreme Court would legitimize discrimination against gays and lesbians by concluding that referring to someone as homosexual 'tends to so harm the reputation of that person as to lower him in the estimation of the community as to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him'" [R1.1].

State

In June 2001, New Jersey became the fifth State to include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination law [R1.2].

In 1992, discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation became unlawful and on the basis of gender identity in 2007 [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 22 October 2012, Director Craig Sashihara in the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights found that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association discriminated against Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Pastor by refusing the couple use of its boardwalk pavilion for a 2007 civil union ceremony [C2.4], [R2.3].

On 12 January 2012, Administrative Law Judge Solomon Metzger ruled the decision made by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in refusing to allow a same-sex ceremony on its property in 2007 violated New Jersey's discrimination laws [R2.2].

In May 2005, Superior Court Judge, James S Rothschild Jr ruled that a lesbian couple can sue the employer of one of the women for creating a work environment so hostile it ruined the couple's sex life, saying that domestic partners should be treated in the same way as married couples, and that the couple should be allowed to pursue their claim through the court system [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 14 June 2011, in a per curiam decision by Judges Axelrad and Harris, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the sister of a woman who died intestate did not act fraudulently or in bad faith when she failed to disclose the existence of additional assets to her sister's surviving domestic partner. In the Matter of the Estate of Fischer, 2011 WL 2314353 (June 14, 2011) (unpublished opinion) [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In 1976, the Superior Court was willing to give legal effect to a male-to-female transsexual 'sex-change operation' finding that the " … Plaintiff has become physically and psychologically unified and fully capable of sexual activity consistent with her reconciled sexu la ttributes of gender and anatomy. Consequently, plaintiff should be considered a member of the female sex for marital purposes" [C1.1].

State

In 1990, New Jersey introduced laws making hate crimes based on sexual orientation considered an aggravating circumstance [R1.1]

State

On 18 March 2013, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed 7–1 with 2 abstentions, Bill S2278 that “protects minors by prohibiting counseling attempts to change sexual orientation” [R1.1]

State

In the 1980s, sodomy was decriminalised [R1].

State

On 16 February 2012, the Assembly passed the (Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act) allowing same-sex nuptials by a 42–33 vote [R1.6]. On 17 February 2012, Governor Chris Chrsitie vetoed the Bill, advocating putting the issue to a referendum. It would take two-thirds of both chambers of the Legislature to override Christie's avowed veto by the time the current legislative session ends in January 2014 [R1.5].

On 13 February 2012, the Senate bill to recognize same-sex marriages passed 24–16 [R1.4].

On 24 January 2012, Republican Gov. Chris Christie said he'd veto a gay marriage bill advancing in the Legislature and instead wants same-sex unions put to a referendum [R1.3].

On 07 January 2010, Senate voted 14 to 20, failing to gather enough votes to advance a same-sex marriage bill [R1.2]

On 07 December 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7 to 6 to pass The Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage bill. The Bill moved to the full Senate for a vote however, an early Senate vote seemed unlikely [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 04 November 2011, Mercer County Assignment Judge Linda Feinberg ruled the case Garden State Equality & Ors v. Gow & Ors could proceed but dismissed three counts in the Complaint, leaving the count claiming that the civil union law does not give same-sex couples equal protection [C2.8] [R2.7].

In July 2010, Supreme Court refused to hear a case on gay marriage, telling supporters to pursue it through the lower courts. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Justices Roberto Rivera-Soto and Helen Hoens said that the issue "cannot be decided without the development of an appropriate trial-like record" [R2.6].

On 18 March 2010, the gay couples who sued New Jersey for the right to marry once before reportedly filed a motion claiming the state continues to discriminate against them even though it offers civil unions to same-sex couples [R2.5].

In October 2006, the Supreme Court found that denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose [C2.4] [R2.4].

The Court held that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed same-sex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to same-sex couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process [C2.4].

Previously;

In June 2005, a state appeals panel ruled that marriage rights for same-sex couples are not protected by New Jersey's constitution and will not be recognized in the Garden State unless legislators change the law. The issue then went to the state supreme court because proponents of same-sex marriage planned to appeal the 2-1 decision, and the high court must accept cases from split appellate panels [R2.3].

In November 2003, in the first instance, Judge Linda Feinberg ruled that the state's laws against same-sex "marriage" do not violate the New Jersey constitution [R2.2].

In June 2002, Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven gay couples denied marriage licenses [R2.1].

Lambda argued that the denials violate the state Constitution's equal protection clause by excluding the couples from benefits associated with legal marriage, including health insurance benefits and spousal inheritance rights.

State

The state's adoption law allows gay couples to jointly adopt using the same process as married couples [R2.2].

Second-parent adoption is also lawful in New Jersey [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 09 August 2012, Superior Court Judge Mary Thurber allowed gay father Anthony Galde and his son to move to Georgia over the objections of Richard Rinko, the boy's other father, who contends his parental rights will be jeopardized by the move to a state that does not recognize same-sex adoptions [R2.5].

On 23 December 2009, Superior Court Judge Francis Schultz ruled Angelia Robinson, who bore twins conceived in a lab using eggs from an anonymous donor and sperm from Sean Hollingsworth, the husband of Robinson's brother, Donald Robinson Hollingsworth, is the legal mother, despite not being genetically related to the children [R2.4].

On 17 December 1997, a "landmark" class-action settlement was approved by the Court, allowing gay and unmarried couples in New Jersey the right to jointly adopt children [R2.2].

On 22 October 1997, Superior Court Judge Sybil R. Moses approved a petition for joint adoption by a gay couple from Bergen County, Jon Holden and Michael Galluccio, permitting the Maywood men to jointly adopt their 2-year-old foster child [C2.3] [R2.2].

In 1995, Judge Sylvia B. Pressler extended the legal rights of gay couples in a ruling that allowed a woman to adopt her partner's 3-year-old twins writing, "They function together as a family. The twins are, by reason of upbringing, daily lives and ties of mutual affection, the children of both Mary and Hannah, and no court order granting or denying the adoption will change that" [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In November 2001, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia declared that people have a constitutional right to protect the privacy of their sexual orientation [R1].

The 3rd Circuit's ruling carries legal authority in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands, the areas covered by the court [R1].

State

The State domestic violence act includes same-sex couples [R1.5].

Title 2C The New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice [L1.4]

2C:25–19. Definitions

[…]

d. "Victim of domestic violence" means a person protected under this act and shall include any person who is 18 years of age or older or who is an emancipated minor and who has been subjected to domestic violence by a spouse, former spouse, or any other person who is a present or former household member. "Victim of domestic violence" also includes any person, regardless of age, who has been subjected to domestic violence by a person with whom the victim has a child in common, or with whom the victim anticipates having a child in common, if one of the parties is pregnant. "Victim of domestic violence" also includes any person who has been subjected to domestic violence by a person with whom the victim has had a dating relationship. [emphasis added]

On 05 January 2011, Governor Chris Christie signed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights eliminating loopholes in a 2002 law that encouraged – but did not mandate – school districts to start antibullying programs. Faculty and staff are required to report all incidents of bullying, inside and outside of school, and administrators who do not act on reports of bullying will be disciplined [R1.3].

Previously:

On 23 November 2010, the senate and assembly voted 30–0 and 71–1 respectively, to expand the 2002 antibullying law. If signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, training for most public school employees on how to spot bullying will be required and all districts will have to form 'school safety teams' to review complaints. Superintendents will have to report incidents of bullying to the state Board of Education, which will grade schools and districts on their efforts to combat it. Public colleges and universities will also be required to include a policy on bullying in its code of conduct [R1.2].

On 15 November 2010, Senate and Assembly panels approved a measure toughening a 2002 anti-bullying law, and the bill now moves to the full House and Senate [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

On 10 July 2012, Superior Court Judge James Guida in Bergen County ruled that New Jersey citizens who commit sex crimes abroad against minors who are under their control may be charged and tried in the state [C2.4], [R2.3].

In June 2008, a New Jersey gay couple who claimed a group of unruly volunteer firefighters threatened and harassed them were awarded $2.84 million [R2.2].

In December 2005, the appellate division of the superior court held that New Jersey's antidiscrimination law applies to children victimized by antigay bullying and schools can be held liable for it [R2.1].

The court upheld a $50,000 award to a student who endured antigay taunts from classmates despite the school district's punishment of some of them. But it struck down a $10,000 award that the state Division on Civil Rights had ordered the district to pay his mother [R2.1].