NJ Supreme Court: State must change laws to offer gay couples same rights afforded to heterosexual couples

From Matt Coles, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation LGBT & AIDS Project:

The New Jersey Supreme Court just ruled in the marriage case. The majority ruled that all the legal protections of marriage must be given to same-sex couples. The legislature is given 180 days either to amend the marriage statutes or to create some other system to give same-sex couples the same legal rights under state law that heterosexuals have (as Vermont, Connecticut and California do). Three of the seven judges would have ruled that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry outright.

Full ruling here.

In a statement posted online, Steven Goldstein, Chair of Garden State Equality, the New Jersey's state-wide LGBT rights advocacy organization said "Over our dead bodies will we settle for less than 100% marriage rights."

Goldstein also announced that three legislators would immediately introduce a bill to recognize full marriage rights for same-sex couples including Democratic Assemblymember Wilfredo Caraballo, who was born in Puerto Rico. So much for stereotypes that all Latinos are homophobic.