So What Exit Did You Get Married At?

Maryland was once a destination state for couples seeking to get married without delay. However, gay couples could soon be heading up I-95 in the other direction. New Jersey's Supreme Court has ruled that the Garden State must equalize benefits available to heterosexual or homosexual couples within 6 months.

The decision is equivalent in its essentials to the ruling of the Vermont court which resulted in that state becoming the first to create civil unions which are basically homosexual marriages by another name. The State of New Jersey must either (1) permit gay and lesbian couples to marry, (2) create "civil unions" and give the participants all the benefits of marriage other than the name, or (3) eliminate all the many benefits accruing to straight married couples (really unlikely).

The ruling contrasts sharply with the decisions of the New York and Washington State Supreme Courts which found no right to homosexual marriage in their state constitutions. Supporters of gay marriage naturally hope that it will influence Maryland's Court of Appeals which now faces the same question before our state's highest court.

However, the immediate consequence is that Karl Rove will use the decision as part of a desperate effort to get social conservatives to return to the Republican fold and vote yet again for the GOP despite the Foley scandal, Bush's campaign for a man who beats his mistress, and the resignation of several Republican members of Congress due to corruption.

Anyone have any thoughts on Molly Pitcher or Vince Lombardi as a wedding venue?