Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. — A movement is afoot to end New Jersey’s policy of recording the race of people seeking to be married, a practice some say is a relic from the days of segregation.
"I don’t think it serves any particular value to keep a statistic like that," said State Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, who wrote a bill seeking to end the policy in response to a complaint from a resident. "Hopefully, we’ll get to a day when that question isn’t relevant at all."
New Jersey is one of six states that record race on marriage licenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California specifically bans the question.
The origins of the requirement in New Jersey are unclear, although it appears to go back to at least the 1960s.
Marilyn Riley, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department, said she checked department records and found no indication of why the policy was instituted. Weinberg said she also looked unsuccessfully for the origins of the policy.
"Our best guess is that it was for statistical purposes to collect data on the population" said Riley, whose department tracks the information.
Others believe the question may have had more sinister beginnings.
"It could be this is a carryover from the days when racial segregation was rampant," said Sally Goldfarb, a law professor at Rutgers University. "If you go back far enough, you’ll find it was illegal for black and white people to marry."
Goldfarb was surprised when she recently pulled out her New Jersey marriage license and saw that it showed her and her husband’s race.
The legislation to eliminate the question passed the Assembly unanimously in December. The state Senate has not yet voted on the measure.
The other states that collect the information are Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Utah and North Carolina.
North Carolina last year changed its policy, which previously allowed marriage applicants only three choices for race: "white," "colored" and "Indian." The state now offers 24 options, the same as the U.S. Census. New Jersey’s application simply leaves a blank.
Goldfarb said the race statistics can be useful as a measure of the breakdown of racial prejudice.
"In terms of social trends, it is interesting to know whether interracial marriage is increasing or decreasing," she said.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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