New Jersey Family Policy Council

Len Deo (800)653-7204	9/25/2008

Civil Unions Are Fulfilling The Intent Of The New Jersey Legislature!

(TRENTON) The Civil Union Review Commission (CURC) – has issued a report that needed a rebuttal. Reading the report leads one to think that the sky is falling and that the legislative intent of the civil unions law has failed. We are here today to stand with the New Jersey Legal Resource Council and the study they have produced to address the assertions made by the CURC. The biased CURC report changes nothing with regard to the real issue – preserving the title and definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman only. When lawmakers passed a civil union law they rightly recognized the historic and societal need for marriage to remain as the union of one man and one woman only, and realized that to redefine it would open the door to further radical redefinitions. “The civil union law is fulfilling legislative intent, as remarkably, there have only been 7 formal complaints filed with the Civil Rights Commission. Most of these claims concern the federal Employment Retirement Insurance Security Act (ERISA) which gives employers the right to provide health insurance benefits to married couples only,” stated Len Deo, Founder & President. “This Commission has done the general population in New Jersey a great disservice by using taxpayer time and money to move their political agenda,” Deo continued. The facts about marriage in New Jersey speak for themselves. Regardless of the CURC’s dramatic conclusions in their report, regardless of all the hype and emotionalism, there remains no real tangible evidence to justify changing the Civil Unions Act or more seriously, redefining marriage from its traditional understanding as being between one man and one woman. Here are the facts – The numbers speak for themselves: 8,600,000 – The total number of residents living in New Jersey 1,600,000 – The total number of married couples living in New Jersey 3,200,000 – The number of married individuals in NJ 37.2 % – The percentage of married persons in NJ to the total population 245,100 – The estimated number of homosexual persons living in NJ 2.8 % – The percentage of homosexual persons in NJ to the total population 3,108 – The number of homosexual couples who have formed civil unions in New Jersey 0.04% – The percentage of homosexual couples who are civil unionized in NJ to the total population. 7 – The number of civil union couples who have filed complaints with the NJ Civil Rights Commission claiming that civil unions are not working 0.0001% – The percentage of civil unioned individuals filing formal complaints to the total population “For the miniscule percent of 0.0001% (one ten thousandth of a percent) we’re going to change the definition of marriage? That’s absurd. In fact, in a poll fielded for New Jersey Family Policy Council, 61% of New Jersey citizens believe that same-sex couples have a right to live as they choose but they do not have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of society,” concluded Deo.
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