The vote in the General Assembly was 56-19. The Senate vote was 23-12. Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign a civil unions bill into law.
Steven Goldstein, director of Equality New Jersey, sums up how a lot of people, including myself, feel about civil unions:
"Nobody knows what civil unions are in the real world, that's the problem. We want marriage equality, not a law that discriminates."
Of course though, Republicans are blasting the measure saying that same sex couples are not as good, and not equivalent to "real" marriage.
A major concern I have about banning gay marriage, and civil unions, is the fact that gay couples are sometimes barred from hospital visitation when their significant other is admitted for care. The New Jersey civil unions measure WILL ALLOW HOSPITAL VISITATION, as well as adoption. So, while the this measure (and any other measure short of GIVING FULL MARRIAGE RIGHTS TO HOMOSEXUAL COUPLES) is similar to the horrible "separate but equal" laws, it is ONE STEP in the right direction.