Child Marriage Legal, Same-Sex Not: Outdated Info Given To NJ Couples

Update: This article now includes a response from the mayor of South Toms River that Patch received after this article was published.

NEW JERSEY — Same-sex marriage is legal in New Jersey. Child marriage is not. But several websites for city and town governments still list outdated regulations for couples to obtain a marriage license, including a requirement that they're of the opposite sex and instructions for minors to get legally hitched.

The Latino Action Network Foundation — a New Jersey-based organization that advocates for the equitable inclusion of Latino communities in American society — conducted a study to see which towns in the Garden State still list exclusionary marriage regulations. The report, released June 28, stated that six towns presented outdated restrictions: Estelle Manor, Fairview, New Hanover, Hanover, South Toms River and Linden.

Patch checked each municipal website and reached out to local officials. Fairview and South Toms River were found to still have online instructions for children to get marriage licenses, despite New Jersey prohibiting child marriage in 2018.

New Jersey became the second state to ban child marriages in June 2018. Before that, minors ages 16 and 17 could marry without parental consent, while children younger than 16 could get married after obtaining parental consent and a judge's approval.

Administrators from Fairview and Hanover told Patch on Wednesday that they weren't aware of the outdated information on their website. Fairview since updated its information, and Hanover promised to do so.

South Toms River Mayor Gregory Handshy says the borough needs to update the information on its website. Handshy says has performed a same-sex marriage ceremony at Borough Hall and that South Toms River doesn't discriminate against same-sex marriages.

Patch was unable to find exclusionary language on Linden's website, and the municipal clerk presented instructions for obtaining a marriage license on the city website that didn't have same-sex requirements.

We were also unable to find exclusionary language on the website for New Hanover — a Burlington County township. It may have been mistakenly included, as the report's data spreadsheet lists information from Hanover in Morris County.

Officials from Estell Manor didn't return comment in time for initial publication.

An 'Unclear Maze' For Same-Sex Couples

A Fairview woman's engagement inspired the Latino Action Network Foundation to look into the marriage regulations listed on municipal websites. Virginia Orozco got engaged to her fiancée, and they began reviewing the Bergen County borough's guidelines for obtaining a marriage license. But on the borough's website, she found a requirement stating that marriage-license applicants "must be of the opposite sex."

"As a Latina and a queer person, I was already facing the judgment and conflict with my family due to their religious beliefs when I announced that I was going to marry my girlfriend of 2 years," Orozco told the Latino Action Network Foundation. "I was discouraged when I saw the discriminatory language on my town’s website."

A few municipal websites outright stated the outdated, opposite-sex requirement. But many more presented exclusionary language, according to the report. Sixty-one New Jersey cities and towns — 11 percent of them — frequently use gendered language such as "bride and groom."

The report concludes that many same-sex couples across the state "must navigate an unclear maze of municipal regulations that are at best unfriendly, and at worst discriminatory and unconstitutional."

The report focuses on same-sex marriages, which became legal in New Jersey in 2013. But Patch also found that Fairview and South Toms River listed instructions for children to obtain marriage licenses — a practice that only became illegal in the state in 2018.

More than 3,600 minors in New Jersey got married between 1995 and 2015, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. Only six states have banned child marriage, along with American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Correcting Oversights

In the case of Hanover and Fairview, both municipal administrators told Patch they had been unaware of the exclusionary marriage regulations on their websites and would fix them.

"The township does not discriminate against same-sex marriages and civil unions," said Hanover Administrator Joseph A. Giorgio. "We do not deny anyone that right under law. The township will correct any information that does not accurately reflect the spirit and intent of any state and federal laws when it comes to same-sex marriages and civil unions. It was certainly unintentional and an oversight on our part in not providing the correct information to the public."

Fairview updated its municipal website to reflect current marriage regulations after Patch contacted them. The borough hasn't had issues with providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to Administrator Diane Testa.

"I apologize to Virginia Orozco for the misinformation on the website and wished that Virginia Orozco had reached out to the borough as we would have happily issued the marriage license," Testa said. "Issuing marriage licenses is certainly one of the nicer aspects of local government."

Read the Latino Action Network Foundation's full report.