same-sex marriage

U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Cake Shop Who Refused to Create a Wedding Cake for Same Sex Couple on Religious Grounds

June 4, 2018 | Karen T. Willitts, Esq.

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the United States to recognize same sex marriage. Numerous states thus enact differing laws regarding the ability of same sex couples to marry in their states, with numerous states passing laws to ban same sex marriage, and various states over the years, voting to allow same sex marriage. Some states began to allow same sex couples to enter into “civil unions”. New Jersey did so in 2006. In 2012, Governor Chris Christie vetoed a potential law in New Jersey that would have allowed same sex marriage. Continue reading ›

Independence Day and Marriage Equality

July 2, 2015 | The Law Office of James P. Yudes, P.C.

One hundred and fifty two years ago, over the course of July 1-3^rd 1863, the armies of the Union and Confederacy met in the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and engaged in the largest military battle ever fought on the United States soil. The Union’s victory at the Battle of Gettysburg and General Robert E. Lee’s retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia back south, under cover darkness on the evening of July 4, 1863 is often referred to as the turning point of the Civil War and the beginning of the end for the Confederate States of America. Continue reading ›

Are Domestic Partners in New Jersey “Separate But Equal” after the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in United States v. Windsor?

July 1, 2013 | James P. Yudes, Esq.

The case of US v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 7, (2013), decided on the last day of the United States Supreme Court’s term on June 26, 2013, declared unconstitutional certain provisions of Bill Clinton’s landmark legislation, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, commonly referred to as “DOMA”. Continue reading ›