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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
TRENTON, N.J.--Committed same-sex couples must be granted the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes, the New Jersey Supreme Court said Wednesday in a 4-3 decision.
The decision, however, leaves it up to the state Legislature to decide, within 180 days, whether to amend the state's marriage statutes to include same-sex couples or to create a separate statutory structure, such as a civil union.
Observers note that New Jersey's Legislature approved a Domestic Partnership Act in 2004, although it does not apply to self-insured employers and explicitly does not require employers to provide dependent coverage for an employee's domestic partner.