CA Marriage Equality Effective Today

June 16, 2008

Westmont, NJ—After 5:00 pm today, gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry in California. Unlike Massachusetts, which does not allow non-resident couples, including those from New Jersey, to marry in that state, California has no such restriction. As a result, many couples are considering traveling to California to wed. However, Canada might be a better option.

In February 2006, just prior to the effective date of the civil union law in New Jersey, then-Attorney General (now Supreme Court Chief Justice) Stuart Rabner issued an opinion regarding the recognition of same-sex legal relationships entered outside this state. At the time, Rabner opined that same-sex marriages would be recognized as a civil union, and not as a marriage.

Therefore, New Jersey couples who are considering a California marriage can expect that your marriage, at a minimum, would be treated as a civil union here in New Jersey. It would also be recognized as a marriage in Massachusetts and New York, as well as in countries that provide full marriage equality, including Canada, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and, most recently, Norway. However, it will not be recognized in Vermont, New Hampshire or Connecticut —all states that recognize civil unions— nor will it be recognized in most US states.

If you are already in a civil union in New Jersey, there is no harm and, at the moment, no benefit to getting married in California. However, one consideration should be that there is great uncertainty as to the legal status of California marriages should the anti-marriage initiative pass in November.

This initiative seeks to amend the California constitution to prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages. At this time, no one seems to know what its effect will be on existing same-sex marriages, assuming it passes. This uncertainty should give gay and lesbian couples pause.

Although there is great excitement now in the thought of getting married in California, there is an alternative that does not have the same uncertainty. Gay and lesbian couples from the US have been marrying in Canada for several years now, without fear that their marriage will be invalidated under Canadian law. As in California, there is no waiting period and no residency requirement.

A Canadian marriage will be recognized in California and Massachusetts —as a marriage— and in New Jersey as a civil union. Since Canada does not recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships, New Jersey couples who are in an existing civil union or domestic partnership are free to marry in Canada. And with Niagara Falls, Ontario a mere six to eight hours away by car, and Toronto easily accessible by air from Newark, a Canadian wedding and honeymoon may be an affordable alternative to marrying in California.

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