New Jersey's Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill establishing civil unions yesterday. You may recall the state's Supreme Court ordered the legislature to grant gays the same rights as straights.

Activists on both sides of the gay divide are concerned that the committee has pushed through too quickly in an effort to escape the hot button political issue. Laura Manserus reports for The New York Times:

The civil union legislation has been criticized by advocates of same-sex marriage and by socially conservative groups. They have both urged the Legislature to consider its options more deliberately.

“They’re changing 3,000 years of culture and history in 10 days,” said John Tomicki, the president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage. “What I believe they’re doing is trying to get it as a political issue off the table quickly.”

Steven Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, the organization leading the campaign for full-fledged marriage for same-sex couples, said of the legislation: “It’s not marriage equality. We’re terribly disappointed. But you could call this civil unions plus.”

The assembly and Senate are expected to vote by Thursday. When that happens, the bill will go on to be (hopefully) signed by Senator Corzine. Then the fags will bitterly rejoice, the anti-fags will undoubtedly bitch and the issue will linger like a bad trick. Weee!