New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights recently ruled that Harriet Berstein and Luisa Paster can proceed with a discrimination complaint, after the religious group Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association tried to bar them from having their civil union ceremony on the Boardwalk Pavilion in Ocean Grove. The Association owns the property but had often let it be used as a public space. Opposite-sex marriage ceremonies of different denominations had also been held there.

 The Division found the Association's actions to be in violation of New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws, citing that the word "public" should mean open to everyone.

"What this case has always been about from my clients' perspective has been equality," said Lawrence Lustberg, the couple's cooperating attorney for the ACLU. "The primary decision is once you open your facility to the general public, then it's got to remain open on a non-discriminatory basis."

Berstein and Paster, who have lived in the Ocean Grove area for over ten years, said they are "thrilled" with the decision.

However, attorney Brian Raum, who represented the Association, commented that his client would continue attempting to prohibit civil union ceremonies from happening on that property in the future. He told the Associated Press, "Our position is the same. A Christian organization has a constitutional right to use their facilities in a way that is consistent with their beliefs."