The New Jersey Supreme Court has given the state Legislature a historic opportunity, and I don’t mean the chance to allow same-sex couples to marry. The Legislature has the chance to enact civil unions for all couples – same-sex and different-sex. New Zealand does it. So does the Netherlands, under the name “registered partnership.” Maine and the District of Columbia recognize “domestic partnerships” for both straight and gay couples, although both give domestic partners fewer rights than those accorded married couples. Even New Jersey’s current domestic partnership law allows different-sex couples to register – but only if both partners are over 62, presumably a nod to the impact of remarriage on certain pension and retirement benefits.
Topics of Expertise: LGBTQ Partnering & Families / Marriage & DivorceLGBTQ Partnering & Families
LGBTQ Partnering & Families
The Steady Rise of Non-Traditional Romantic Unions
Experts: Michael Rosenfeld
By Michael J. Rosenfeld Professor of Sociology Stanford University mrosenfe@stanford.edu, 415.205.1892 Prior to 1970, the overwhelming majority of all couples were same-race married couples. Couples who lived together outside of marriage, whether heterosexual or same-sex, were practically invisible. Inter-racial marriages were extremely rare. In fact, until 1967, many states in the US had laws against interracial […]
Topics of Expertise: Biracial/ Multicultural Children and Interracial/ Multicultural Families / Gender & Sexuality / History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life / LGBTQ Partnering & Families / Marriage & Divorce / Race, Ethnicity & Culture / Singles & DatingMyths and Realities About Same-Sex Families
By Gary Gates Senior Research Fellow The Williams Institute UCLA School of Law gates@law.ucla.edu; 310.825.1868 The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue,” reports The New York […]
Topics of Expertise: Gender & Sexuality / LGBTQ Partnering & FamiliesWill Providing Marriage Rights To Same-Sex Couples Undermine Heterosexual Marriage? Evidence From Scandinavia
Experts: M. V. Lee Badgett
By M. V. Lee Badgett Professor of Economics University of Massachusetts, Amherst As a way to understand what might happen, some writers have looked to the experience of those Scandinavian countries that pioneered giving a marriage-like status to gay and lesbian couples. Denmark adopted such a law in 1989, Norway in 1993, Sweden in […]
Topics of Expertise: Gender & Sexuality / LGBTQ Partnering & Families / Marriage & DivorceEXPERTS
Professor of Economics, School of Public Policy UMass Amherst; Williams Institute UCLA
Executive Director of the Rockway Institute for LGBT Psychology and Public Policy, and Distinguished Professor in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program, California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical School; Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, Boston Medical Center; American Family Therapy Academy; Boston Center for Culturally Affirming Practices
