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Same Sex Marriage Legislation Likely in New Jersey

Virtually all opinion polls confirm that same sex marriage legislation is the future. To those who said , "leave it to the people, not judges" the  outcome will be passage of such laws in New Jersey and elsewhere within the foreseeable future.

Acknowledging this as a likely outcome, some legal scholars are already raising questions as to the potential for conflict between such laws and religious liberty. For example, to what extent, if any, should the law protect the rights of "conscientious objectors" to refuse service to married same sex couples in religious-based social service agencies? How far may government  go in requiring religious institutions to accommodate same sex marriage? It is interesting that according to one 2008 survey, when asked if they would favor same sex couples to marry if the law "guaranteed that no church or congregation would be required to perform such marriages", support for same sex marriage jumped from 29% to 43%.

As one commentator put it: "Gay marriage is here to stay. And religious objections to gay marriage are not likely to evaporate anytime soon. Our best option-the one that serves the common good-is to work together to find the right balance between equality and religious freedom, two of our nations most cherished ideals."

Since it is predicted that New Jersey will  have same sex marriage within a year, such issues are the true future of gay marriage.

Full post as published by New Jersey Law Blog on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).