Mark Lewis, et al. v. Gwendolyn L. Harris et al. (New Jersey Supreme Court A-68-05)

Here is the opinion [90 pp. pdf].

From the Syllabus by the Office of the Clerk

HELD: Denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. The Court holds that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed samesex couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to samesex couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process.

Update: The court relied on New Jersey Constitution, Article I, Section 1.

All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

Compare Wisconsin Constitution, Article I, Section 1.

All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Update 2: The Marquette Law School Student Chapter of the Federalist Society has posted a link to a webcast of the October 3, 2006 marriage amendment debate.

Update 3: Could same-sex ban be dumped? Jason Stein in the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

Evan Wolfson, a leading advocate for same-sex marriage, said that the "raw material" for overturning statutory bans exists in all 50 states, including Wisconsin. He said some experts evaluating the potential for a successful challenge look first at whether a state has recognized other rights for gay and lesbian couples, such as allowing the adoption of a child by a parent's same-sex partner.

"There is definitely a school of thought that says that before you can get to marriage you need to see progress in other family protections. That both creates a comfort and an understanding that prepares (courts) for the next step," said Wolfson, executive director of the New York-based group Freedom to Marry.

(via Marquette Warrior)