Free Republic

Report says civil unions make 'second-class status' By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press Writer MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- A commission established to study same-sex civil unions in New Jersey has found in its first report that civil unions create a "second-class status" for gay couples rather than giving them equality. The report stops short of recommending that the state allow gay marriage. But it does find that gay couples in Massachusetts, the only state that now allows gay marriage, do not experience some of the legal complications that those in New Jersey do. The civil union law sought to give...

Will the arrests of three illegal immigrants in an alleged plot to attack Fort Dix, N.J. hurt the effort in Congress to pass a major immigration bill? Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said Thursday it would actually help the case for the legislation. “It makes it more compelling. I would rather know who is here in America to pursue the American dream versus who is here to destroy it,” he said, in a conference call with reporters. An immigration reform that requires all current illegal immigrants to register with the government and go through background checks “creates for...

New Jersey to consider abolishing death penalty Tue May 8, 2007 2:43PM EDT By Jon Hurdle PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey lawmakers will consider abolishing the death penalty this week, starting a process that could see the liberal state become the first to scrap capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. On Thursday, the judiciary committee of the state Senate will consider two bills calling for New Jersey to replace execution with life imprisonment without parole. Capital punishment in the state is already suspended under a moratorium passed by legislators in late 2005. Sen. Ray Lesniak,...

McGreevey mulling Episcopal priesthood Posted by The Star-Ledger May 02, 2007 12:08PM Categories: News Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger Former Gov. James E. McGreevey appears during custody proceedings in the Union County Courthouse last week.Former Gov. James E. McGreevey has started the process to become a priest in his newly adopted Episcopal faith and hopes to begin a three-year seminary program in the fall. McGreevey, who often described himself as a devout Catholic while in public office, was officially received into the Episcopal religion on Sunday, at St. Bartholomew's Church in Manhattan, and is now part of the church's "discernment" phase that...

UNION, N.J. -- Former Gov. James E. McGreevey is teaching ethics, law and leadership at Kean University. The Star-Ledger of Newark reported the nation's first openly gay governor earns $17,500 and has been an executive in residence since Nov. 1. When he was in office, McGreevey was often criticized for the appearance of ethical lapses. "It seems to me, Jim McGreevey teaching law and ethics is a little bit like Doctor Kevorkian teaching health maintenance," state Republican chairman Tom Wilson told the newspaper. The job requires McGreevey to work up to 15 hours a week and helps the 49-year-old accrue...