Statehouse Annex overflow room, moments before the vote
Naomi and Heidi from Hawthorne The last time Naomi Collier, a candidate for Hawthorne Council last year, was here at the statehouse, she had Krstofer, 6, and Kaleb, 4, with her. Waiting on long lines is easier without them today, but she's glad they were with her when she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December. Heidi's young Hope - sick at home today with her Dad - has also come with her many times volunteering for marriage equality. Naomi: "I hope I'm not disappointed today, but I'm ready for whatever we need to do to do what's right. Heidi: "I'm just praying for the side of right. We're here not for ourselves and our generation - we're both straight - we're here for all our kids, and for whoever it is they grow up to love in their lives."
Alexis, Dan & Dmitri of Mt. Laurel Alexis and Dan are both 21. Dmitri is only 6 months old, and arrived for his inaugural statehouse lobbying trip in his stroller marked with a big EQUALITY sticker. They got involved after a Corzine rally when somebody from Garden State Equality signed them up to volunteer at the Collingswood HQ: "All our friends - all of them - believe in this, too. Like we do."
Rev. Carlton Smith of Paramus Rev. Smith is Interim Pastor at Central Unitarian Church in Paramus. I asked him if he was here representing his congregation: "Absolutely. We have supported this for ... decades. In our congregation, families headed by same-sex couples are treated the same as those headed by opposite sex couples. We want to extend this into the wider world. And I'm here today on the side of Love."
Lauren & Susan, Chloe and Robin (below) Nearly every inch of the floor in the statehouse annex overflow room (one of many in use today). On the left (arm raised, mid-joke) is Lauren, behind her is her mom Susan (North Brunswick). On the right across from Susan, in white and smiling at her photographer, is Chloe, who's here with her mom (in pink sitting behind her) from Plainfield. Robin is in the front on the right; she's from Maplewood. I asked them why they were here today and they all started talking at once. Lauren: "We're all here for equality." Susan: "And for civil rights - when Black people needed to fight they had people fighting alongside them. This is like that, it has to be like that." Robin: "Right! This is not a minority issue. It's an equality issue. And when I get married, if we can strengthen marriage by making it include everyone, it will strengthen my marriage too, make it more meaningful."
