Thank God the Camden County Democrats can still hand out fat contracts because they sure aren't doing anything policy-wise. Read as they tie themselves in knots over what to do with a new prison no one wants.
Beach Slapped.
A reader has some harsh words for Senator Jim Beach's abstention on marriage equality in today's Courier Post. Whoever wrote that editorial sure was pissed!
Fr. Michael Doyle is the Camden priest recently profiled in a documentary called the Poet of Poverty. The movie was screened last night in Cherry Hill and I cried and laughed and cried and laughed some more. Here's the trailer. And yes, that's Martin Sheen doing narration.
Thank you mconvente. Yes, you're right; far more than only gay people are disappointed in the NJ Senate. You say it well. - promoted by Rosi
Today's New Jersey State Senate vote against a bill that would legalize gay marriage is quite a hit to the cause of equality, the progressive community, and to me personally. To me, it is unconscionable that a legislative body could refuse their sworn oath to ensure that our laws uphold the Constitution, but that is exactly what happened this afternoon in the Senate chambers in Trenton.
While watching an online live stream of the debate, I was struck by the words of one particular Senator. Her name is Teresa Ruiz, and she represents District 29, which includes the very diverse city of Newark. Senator Ruiz is the first Latina state Senator in New Jersey's history, and her upraising clearly shined through with her words today.
While making her speech in favor of gay marriage, Senator Ruiz recalled her personal experience with being deemed "the other", concluding by stating she doesn't ever want to take a vote that says, "it's okay for me, but not for you."
Joe Lieberman now has a 19% approval rating on the Healthcare issue, and a 25% overall approval rating with 67% of his constituents giving him bad marks.
As the New Jersey State Senate soon moves to vote, I have a simple question for our State Senators voting on Gay Marriage today: Whats in your future?
Today is the day that the NJ Senate finally votes on marriage equality. This is hardly a news flash for regular readers of this blog, but it's still feels kinda surreal that it's finally show time.
If anyone reading has pics, video or updates to add, please feel free to share here. If you're on site in Trenton, grab a snack cuz it's gonna be a long day....... I estimate the marriage vote to go down sometime around 5:30pm.
Jay Lassiter planned all along to go down to the statehouse yesterday and blog for us. But then, something happened in his hometown, that made him stay there, to capture for you today what the people of Cherry Hill did when the fools came to town. Great job, Jay - promoted by Rosi
Today the NJ Senate Judiciary voted on gay marriage equality. And what a long strange trip it's been clearing the first hurdle.
This is just sharp as hell. Thanks so much for posting it. - - Promoted from the diaries by Rosi
So, is it really going to be Democrats who walk away from the altar? Really?
After the long and romantic courtship of the state's gay and lesbian electorate. After the invites to hundreds of long-overdue gay weddings are in the mail? After all the promises to say, "I do" when the vote got posted. As the sun begins to set on the Corzine administration with pen in hand and the lame duck is roasting to a warm finale?
After all that, how can you just walk away? How?
Think of the economy! Think of all that festive glass smashing and chair-carrying? Think of all those cash register and church bells a-ringing and soap bubbles popping? Think of all that glitz and glamour, the tears and taffeta, the champagne and cannolis. Think of all those new cute cake toppers! New Jersey is billions of dollars in the red and marriage equality can only help our bottom line as gay couples flood into the state with their wallets and pocketbooks jingling. One independent report puts that number at $248 million a year without a single penny of cost to taxpayers. Do not let those treasures be abandoned like so much rumpled wedding garb on the honeymoon night.
Think about love! People who love each other want to be married. Let them. They have been fully warned. And, no, civil unions do not work here, so move on. Last year, the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission found that civil unions are not only not equal to marriage but that the rights are not even close to equal. Enough said.
Think about the people! The people of New Jersey are behind the freedom to marry. Poll after poll says so. The people that aren't excited about it will find something new to complain about by next election cycle for sure. An eight-year debate and a substandard civil union solution is not the end of this conversation. It's New Jersey! We live and let live. The time is now for New Jersey to live and let love.
Think about yourself! As British Prime Minister William Gladstone said, "Justice delayed is justice denied." Five states already have laws that allow marriage equality. Seriously, Iowa allows the freedom to marry. Iowa! New Jersey has led the way on civil rights issues in the past. We are a progressive state with an electorate that leans left on social issues. If Democrats take a walk on New Jersey's LGBT community then the community will take a walk on Democrats. And a good part of the progressive base will walk away, too.
Think about your children and grandchildren! Marriage equality is a the future and our kids already know it. If a ten-year old boy can take a stand and refuse to say the pledge of allegiance until there is "liberty and justice for all", including the LGBT community, then our legislators can do it too. Will you tell your kids and grandkids that you stood up for civil and human rights and respecting all families? Or will you tell them that you sat on the fence and looked the other way while discrimination continued?
Do the right thing for the state's gay and lesbian community and for all of us. Let them eat cake! Wedding cake that is. It's time. Actually, it is past time. Bring marriage equality up for a vote. Now. And, just say "I do."
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To contact your legislator and urge them to post and pass marriage equality!
Promoted by Jason Springer: Interesting visual representation of where things stand in the marriage equality debate. Repromoted by Rosi Saturday late Saturday night.
If the New Jersey legislature passed a marriage equality bill we could add one more white star to this flag. Since New Jersey was the 3rd colony to become a state, we'd get star #3 to go along with Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
Looks like like the little dipper don't you think? Anyone was Photoshop skillz feel free to add New Jersey on this image..... just to show up what it would look like.
Image courtesy Carl Tashian @ makeitequal.com
go below the fold for a version the Jersey version, courtesy of Joe Osbourne.
Let's say the state does the right thing and passes marriage equality legislation this year, perhaps in the lame-duck session. What would be the fallout? How would New Jersey feel about same-sex marriage by 2014?
Thanks to federalism, we have a good idea, because it is is now five years after the first Massachusetts "gay weddings." An AP article on the Massachusetts experience looks at statistics and the personal experiences of various people who were pro- and anti-marriage. The lack of federal recognition of the marriages clearly causes a lot of problems, but couples are generally happy and proud. Some have been divorced, but that's normal today. Our concern is the politics, and at the state level, marriage equality is now widely accepted in the state legislature:
One of the striking developments, since 2004, is the fading away of opposition to gay marriage among elected officials in Massachusetts....
The near-consensus now among political leaders is a far cry from 2003-04, when the debate was wrenching for legislators such as Sen. Marian Walsh. Her district, including parts of Boston and some close-in suburbs, is heavily Catholic and socially conservative, so when same-sex marriage became a public issue, "there wasn't an appetite to discuss it, let alone support it," Walsh said...
"They said marriage is always between a man and women," Walsh mused. "I used to think that was true. I had those same premises, but those premises were false."
That's not to say that there is no opposition, for example "Opposition to same-sex marriage remains strong in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, though church leaders are less vocal on the issue than a few years," but the loud complaints seems to have faded to real zealots. After all, the Church doesn't accept divorce either, but few people even think of voting on the issue even though Christ was quite clear on the subject. I had to laugh at the hypocritical complaints of this guy:
Statewide, there is no mandate that schools teach about same-sex marriage, but [Catholic law professor Scott] FitzGibbon said he was troubled by some local districts' policies. Citing a 2004 anti-bias directive in Boston, he said a teacher there could risk his or her career "by encouraging an examination of the cons as well as the pros of same-sex marriage."
I went K-12 to a public school in a liberal state, and church school too, and I can assure the professor that no teacher ever discussed the "cons" of marriage. Imagine the conservatives if they found out public school teachers were told to teach about reasons for couples not to get married!
I think the statistics are worth noting too:
According to the latest state figures, through September 2008, there had been 12,167 same-sex marriages in Massachusetts - 64 percent of them between women - out of 170,209 marriages in all.
I find this very impressive because that is 7% of all marriages, and that's comparable to the percentage of homosexuals in the population. For example, 4% of 2004 and 2008 voters self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. I've seen critics try to claim that not enough people are applying for marriages or civil unions, but now I'd say Massachusetts proves that idea is false.
Overall, the Massachusetts experience of five years of marriage equality shows that it will be widely accepted. By 2014, New Jersey could have many happy gay couples and our politicians could still enjoy their safe incumbency.
"In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions," Governor Baldacci said. "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
Some worry about religious freedom The governor also addressed that concern:
"This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," Governor Baldacci said.
"It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine?s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."
I continue to believe that this is an urgent matter for progressives to address this year. I will work for Jon Corzine to be re-elected, but one simply cannot assume a man who is polling under 40% is going to win. A loss would mean that there is little chance that we would have a governor willing to sign marriage equality into law until 2014 and probably 2018.
Update: Find out below which three senators Garden State Equality wants you to call today.
Gay marriages performed outside New Jersey are recognized in the state for the purpose of divorce, according to a ruling Friday by a judge deciding whether a lesbian couple married in Canada can split.
The wider implications weren't immediately clear, but Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said New Jersey has a long history of recognizing marriages that are valid where they were performed.
Here's more on what the ruling means:
Jacobson said her ruling does not mean that the state has to recognize same-sex marriages for other purposes.
But her decision does overrule, in part, a state attorney general's order that declared New Jersey wouldn't fully recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Now the Attorney General has to decide what she wants to do:
Lee Moore, a spokesman for Attorney General Anne Milgram, said she had not yet decided whether to appeal Friday's decision to a higher state court.
[snip]
The state attorney general's office had argued that she should be granted a dissolution of a civil union, instead of a divorce.
Only in New Jersey could a couple have the ability to get divorced, without actually having the possibility of getting married. We could save on legal bills if the Legislature would take action and rectify that situation too. You wonder how much longer our elected officials can continue to justify denying committed couples the joy of marriage, when we now have them experience the pain of divorce?
Promoted: From Jay's vision, to reality. (Let's hope.) -JG
Old b-roll footage can be intriguing to watch, including this clip with Senator Barbara Buono from last summer's paid family leave bill signing. She praises the leadership skills of Sen. Steve Sweeney -- who's since become Senate majority leader. It kinda got me thinking about what's possible for GLBT rights in New Jersey.
Borrowing the language of the gay marriage debate, Simpson said the group seeks to "protect our definition of what walking on sidewalks is."
Jackie Bello '09, echoing what Simpson called the "separate but equal" nature of Proposition 8, said the group would gladly work with the Grounds and Building Maintenance Department to construct alternative pathways for freshmen to use.
"We don't hate freshmen. Some of our best friends are freshmen," said Shawn Fennell '09, who helped Simpson plan the movement.
Those crazy kids, they're nothing if not creative. The group's facebook page now has 209 members as well. The protest continues Monday and Tuesday.
Among independent voters, the total was almost the same as the overall result: 52 percent support the decision and 44 percent oppose it. The poll of 502 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
I take this as yet more evidence that there is little political risk in supporting marriage equality here in New Jersey.
I had another great time last night in Somerville, after having a blast last week in Toms River - both times with Garden State Equality and DFA friends together in the room. One more week to go - Tuesday, May 20th throughout North Jersey. - JG
Last Tuesday, Garden State Equality launched its Neighborhood Action Summits to every corner of South Jersey to "turn up the heat for marriage equality."
Here's what on-site action to help bring marriage equality to New Jersey looks like:
Seem like something you could do? Then, join the next round of summits, as the push for marriage equality heads to 12 more locations in Central Jersey tonight at 7:00 p.m.There's one near you - promise.
Last week, a Gloucester County Court took up the issue of divorce for same sex couples. From a Family Law Blog...
Some 5,000 gay and lesbian couples in New Jersey have registered as domestic partners, and many have yet to form a civil union under more recent state law. So what happens to their property if they decide to break up? This week Gloucester County Judge John Tomasello ruled in a case believed to the first of its kind that there should be an equitable distribution of assets in the same way assets would be distributed in the divorce of a married couple. Furthermore, recognizing the special circumstances of gay couples who often had years-long committed relationships before being permitted to legally formalize them, the Judge dated the period of equitable distribution to the formation of the couple in 1999 rather than the establishment of the domestic partnership soon after the enabling law came into effect in 2004.
This case is important in terms of the court's consideration of the entire span of a committed same sex relationship, since no legal recognition was available until 2004.
Can anyone with more knowledge of the issue tell me if this ruling is as significant as it appears to be? It looks to me that the court took the side that just because the state waited to pass Domestic Partnerships and Civil Unions, doesn't mean that same sex couples should be penalized in divorce proceedings and that their prior time together in a committed relationship should be a factor much the same as it is for a married couple seeking a divorce. I'm not a lawyer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but that seems kinda big to me.
Judge Robert B. Hanson ruled that couples cannot be denied licenses to marry or marriage certificates or "in any other way be prevented from entering into civil marriage pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 595 by reason of the fact that both persons comprising such as a couple are of the same sex."
He ordered the Polk County recorder's office to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
No doubt there will be judicial appeals and perhaps even legislative action. In any case, it will no doubt raise the issue for Presidential candidates. Those who visit New Jersey could learn about the half measure of civil unions.
"Whether it's the Ocean Grove dispute or another poll, it's a constant agitation of society much like former President Bill Clinton's `wag the dog' antics to keep the heat off of his personal indiscretions,"
At the time, President Clinton was embroiled in the Lewinsky scandal, which continued to consume public attention for the rest of that year and the first months of 1999. As it happened, a popular 1997 movie, Wag the Dog, features a president who fakes a war to distract public attention from a domestic scandal. Some Republicans in Congress raised questions about the timing of the strikes.
Remember this the next time a conservative says liberals are soft on terrorists. Let's see if the media picks up on this one.
More from the 9/11 Commission:
The failure of the strikes, the "wag the dog" slur, the intense partisanship of the period, and the nature of the al Shifa evidence likely had a cumulative effect on future decisions about the use of force against Bin Ladin.
Imagine if the legislature passed a law declaring that cubic zirconias - the synthetic diamond substitutes available on home shopping channels - shall now be considered equal to real diamonds. Would the people of New Jersey ever accept that law? Of course not, and it wouldn't matter if the law had all the pages in the world mandating equal value.
I won't hold my breath for those increased sales of cubic zirconias. Civil Unions on the other hand? As more evidence surfaces of the clear inequities between civil unions and marriage equality, I can only hope that the concept of Civil Unions being seen as an equal subsitute will have seen its day come and go.
