Source: New Jersey Civil Rights press release, Associated Press via Star-Ledger
Boardwalk Pavilion, Ocean Grove, NJ
photo: Asbury Park PressA New Jersey township that is owned by a church probably violated the civil rights of a lesbian couple when it refused to rent an open-air beachfront pavilion to the couple for use in a civil union ceremony, a state commissioner has concluded.
The finding, issued by J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, director of New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights, said an investigation had determined there was reason to pursue anti-discrimination charges against the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association for denying Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster permission to rent its Boardwalk Pavilion for their civil union ceremony.
The pavilion had long been available for rental and use for secular events.
Today's ruling states in part, "When it invites the public at large to use it, the Association is subject to the Law Against Discrimination, and enforcement of that law in this context does not affect the Association’s constitutionally protected right to free exercise of religion."
The ruling -- called a "Finding of Probable Cause" -- does not resolve the civil rights complaint. It means only that the state has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is "sufficient evidence" to support a "reasonable suspicion" the anti-discrimination law has been violated.
Bernstein and Paster, who live in Ocean Grove, had applied for permission to rent the pavilion for their civil union ceremony in March 2007, but the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the pavilion, denied their request because it said the civil union ceremony conflicted with the religious beliefs of the United Methodist Church (UMC).
Finding: NJ church-owned town violated lesbian couple's rights when it barred them from public pavilion [contd.]
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which is affiliated with UMC, owns the pavilion and all the land in Ocean Grove -- a nearly one-square-mile section of Neptune Township originally founded as a seaside religious retreat. Homeowners there lease land from the church group.
The Association said it was not required to permit civil union ceremonies in its Boardwalk Pavilion based on First Amendment rights.
But in its investigation, the civil rights division found that the Camp Meeting Association had been permitting the public to use the pavilion for weddings and secular events prior to the request from Bernstein and Paster.
The investigation found that the association was even granted a tax exemption for the pavilion from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) nearly twenty years ago.
The church group was eligible for the exemption under the state's Green Acres law, DEP found, because it said that the pavilion would be open to the public "on an equal basis."
Following filing of the civil rights complaint, the DEP rejected a renewal of the Green Acres tax exemption for the Boardwalk Pavilion in September 2007.
The application from Bernstein and Paster to use the facility for their civil union ceremony prompted a swift change in policy by the association. By April 1, the Association's president had decided it would cease permitting the public to reserve the use of the Boardwalk Pavilion for any wedding and other events.
In today's ruling, Vespa-Papaleo rejected a similar complaint filed by Janice Moore and Emily Sonnessa, who also live in Ocean Grove. They had applied for permission to use the pavilion for a civil union ceremony after the association had issued its new rules that prohibit public use of the pavilion for all weddings.
Brian Raum, a lawyer for the conservative legal group, Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the Camp Meeting Association, said his clients would keep pushing back against being forced to allow civil unions on the property.
"Our position is the same," he told Associated Press. "A Christian organization has a Constitutional right to use their facilities in a way that is consistent with their beliefs."
Source: State of New Jersey press release
Judge rules Monmouth church group discriminated against lesbian couple | Star-Ledger (AP)