NJ and Gay Marriage

by: Rszuch

Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 10:11:10 AM EST

I plead ignorance on the status of gay marriage and civil unions in New Jersey. Who knows the current status? As important, is anyone familiar with bills floated in State legislature regarding gay marriage/unions?

Personally, I find the passage of Prop 8 offensive and a clear violation of civil rights. By my logic, the only defensible reason for preventing gay marriage is religious beliefs...and religious beliefs have no place in state or Federal laws or constitutions. Gay Americans are at a severe disadvantage in fighting such discrimination due to their limited numbers. Gay Americans remain a relatively small minority group in the USA, with, as I see it, relatively little power. They don't have the funding, PACs, caucuses, or other power mechanisms that other minority groups enjoy (e.g., blacks, women, immigrants).

I believe that progressive Americans need to help Gay Americans carry the flag for this fight. Its not just a gay rights issue, its a personal freedom and civil rights issue. If Judeo-Christian values dictate the definition of legal marriage in this country, what's next? Ban's on marriage between atheists and agnostics? Prop 8 is a slippery slope, and its in the interest of progressives to not only stop the tide, but also turn it back the other direction.

Rszuch :: NJ and Gay Marriage

Tags: gay rights, civil rights, Prop 8, proposition 8, California, (All Tags)

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NJ and Gay Marriage | 3 comments

mixed bag (0.00 / 0)

gays can not marry in NJ but can civil union.

it's early in the battle still.

activist for hire.

by: Jay Lassiter @ Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 16:36:32 PM UTC

Prop Hate (0.00 / 0)

Here are links to 2 articles in NJ papers reporting on the nationwide and local (including Montclair, NJ) rallys protesting Prop Hate:

http://www.northjersey.com/bet...

and

http://www.nj.com/news/index.s...

As usual, the SL has its share of loony tume commenters. However, boywonder98 is acquitting himself quite nicely in his parry of the illogical assaults of (generally) white males, who seem to be the most threatened. BTW, he identifies as a het.

From what I can assertain, there was a significant presence of straights, who wanted to s upport their friends and relatives and/or couldn't believe this was happening in the US of A in 2008. Of course I can't believe anything that happened in the last 8 years could have happened, but so be it.

The leaders and speakers at the marches said to be "respectful," whatever that means. But I'm angry, very angry. Not at individual voters, but at the institutions who spent so much money in dirty campaigns to sway them.

There is a lot of money on our side, too. With regard to Prop Hate, perhaps wer were not as organized as we could have been. I leave that to more analytical minds.

One of my favorite poets, the late Audre Lorde, and African American woman, famously declared, "There is no hierarchy of opression."

http://www.fuuse.com/article.p...

We are all in this together. We just have to convince each other that it is true.

by: SmartyJones @ Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 18:58:11 PM UTC

the Legislature (4.00 / 1)

There are two bills: A2978 which does have 11 co-sponsors (out of 41 votes needed to pass) and S1967 with five co-sponsors (out of 21 votes needed to pass). The Assembly will not move on this unless the Senate has already done so. The Assembly is up in 2009 and the Senate is not.

Weinberg and Lesniak are the primary sponsors and Buono has signed back on. Cunningham promised her support at the Democratic National Convention and Ruiz has also signed on. However, there are at least two certain "no" votes in the Democratic caucus (Sweeney and Rice) and probably others. There are no Republicans who are public "yes" votes and I doubt if there are any private ones. So, for all the confident talk aka spin and bovine excrement, there is no quick path to 21.

A slower and surer path will be for more couples to join in civil unions. Those couples then have a story to tell their legislators.

by: Creed Pogue @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 18:23:12 PM UTC