District 25 - any hope?

by: Laurel

Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 09:29:19 PM EST

In anticipation of the upcoming marriage equality debate, I'm trying to get a feel for how friendly to equality are the legislators in my family's district. They live in District 25, which is represented by 3 republicans:

Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO

Assemblyman MICHAEL PATRICK CARROLL

Assemblyman RICHARD A. MERKT.

Here is what I know about these guys: In 2006, both assemblymen voted NO on A3787/S2407, the civil unions bill (pdf). Sen Bucco did not vote (what's up with that?), but is on record opposing civil unions and marriage equality, and supporting an anti-equality constitutional amendment. In advance of the CU vote, Carroll stated on his blog that "This is NOT a civil rights matter". And Merkt apparently threatened to impeach the NJ supreme court justices who voted in favor of equality.

I can't find any recent statements online by any of them on marriage equality, but the data from a few years ago indicate that all three are die-hard haters. HOWEVER! I know from experience working on marriage in MA that legislators do sometimes change their tune. So, does anyone out there have anything more hopeful to add about these three legislators? Is the NJ legislature thick enough with democrats that the GOP party liners can be ignored?

Thanks!
-The Lesbian Sister in WA

Laurel :: District 25 - any hope?

Cross-posted at Blue Mass Group and Pam's House Blend.

Tags: marriage, new jersey, Civil Unions, (All Tags)

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District 25 - any hope? | 5 comments

Hope? Good Luck! (4.00 / 1)

Bucco did not vote against the civil unions bill because he was not present to vote against it! Of the 3, he might be the least homophobic. Perhaps if you are creative and relate to him somehow ... who knows?

Patrick Carroll and Merkt seem to be rabid homophobic and transphobic ideologues. I had a brief dialogue with each of them re some LGBT legislation a few years ago, Merkt shut down quickly and MPC thought he was clever, but when I answered each of his questions, he decided he could not live with the term, "reasonable".

Better luck working to elect fair minded Democrats to kick them out of office... but you can certainly try to enter a dialogue with any or all of them. Be prepared for their responses and have a thick skin!

Babs

"Discrimination caused by ignorance and fear is a tax on human progress" - Barbra Casbar Siperstein

by: Babs NJSD @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 03:36:24 AM UTC

CARROLL & MERKT ? LOL ! (4.00 / 1)

Babs gets it right, these 2 are far to the right. SO far to the right you'll need a plane ticket to travel that far.

Check out my 3 paragraph primer on Polywell Fusion.

by: FogerRox @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 03:54:27 AM UTC

OK - never talked to Carroll (0.00 / 0)

.. at any level on the issue, as Babs has - but he claims to be more libertarian than anything. He even showed sparks of that in an on-air debate on NJN with Reed Gusciora. But Consistent libertarian? Very debatable. Wouldn't help anyway. Best advice - not worth the time.

by: Tom Wyka @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 04:32:12 AM UTC

Yikes! (0.00 / 0)

That's what I was afraid of.

Anyone know where these guys go to church?

Thanks very much for your comments!

by: Laurel @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 18:41:10 PM UTC

Good luck, sis (0.00 / 0)

It's worth a shot and reaching out is a good way to build bridges. but it's probably not gonna get them to vote our way. But if you're a constituent, you simply MUST let them know that 1) we are everywhere, even LD25 and 2) give them an example of a gay person who's just an average NJyan with regular everyday issues.... just like them.

I'd start with Carroll for 2 reasons. Love him or hate him, he's a smart dude. He's got the bandwidth to contemplate your argument. Also he's got a libertarian streak that can surprise at times. For eg... he and Reed Gusciora co-sponsored a bill to legalize marijuana for AIDS and cancer patients.

No one's a lost cause. And even by connecting with our most ardent opponents... by softening their hearts just a little, the whole bell curve moves our way.

Good luck.

activist for hire.