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.
So, if you're waiting and watching from home, and wondering when this boat is launching, I'm here to help. I mean really here - upstairs in the Senate Gallery watching at almost 2:30 as staffers have begun to mill about, and some doings have started at the podium.
The scene is tense, notwithstanding the dismal scorecard published in the Star Ledger today. When hope is all you have, hope persists.
So far, I've seen Gov. Codey in his chambers across the rotunda, and Sens. Sweeney and Girgenti enter separately and exit thru a side door upstairs, and now Bateman and some others are entering downstairs.
Like many of you, the ACLU-NJ has a list of resolutions for 2010. However, unlike most New Jerseyans - but keeping in good company with Blue Jersey's politicos - we only have about a week to see results. Here's our list, and we need help to keep it.
1. To save money (while making government records more accessible). We're working to pass a bill that would bring the government's fees to copy public records in line with what it actually costs to copy them. Cities have charged as much as $10 for the first three pages - far higher than what you'll find at your local copy shop. It protects our democracy, and it makes cents. Read ACLU-NJ Open Government Attorney Bobby Conner's op-ed in The Star-Ledgeron lowering the cost of copies.
2. To treat people fairly. The ACLU-NJ is fighting to make sure all families in New Jersey are equal by giving same-sex couples their right to marry. Read ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas' piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer about marriage.
3. To help people when they need it most. Our criminal justice system doesn't do much to stop crime or mete out justice. A package of bills offers reforms proven to help people avoid resorting to crime once they re-enter the real world. The bills offer food stamps to former prisoners, remove barriers to finding work, help prisoners get their GED and, perhaps most important, end huge fees families must pay to collect calls from their loved ones. Read my op-ed in The Record about redemption through intelligent criminal justice reforms.
If you help us keep our resolutions by calling your legislators TODAY, we'll help you keep yours. (As far as we're concerned, exercising your right to free speech absolutely counts as exercise.) So get active (on the issues) and call your legislators to suggest some resolutions, before the clock on opportunity strikes midnight.
If you've attended a marriage lobby day in Trenton, you know how hard it is for any one person to recap it all. That's mostly because at any one time, there are multiple things going on in and around various parts of the statehouse. But, here's what I saw and heard today:
Hundreds of marriage equality supporters showed up this morning, in spite of (or maybe because of?) Speaker Joe Roberts' New Year's Eve announcement that the Assembly would not conduct hearings on the issue. They formed the familiar sea of blue t-shirts with the simple message of what we want: Equality - the American Dream. It is so inspiring to see the huge numbers of equality supporters - faces old and young, gay and straight, of every race - who have made the trip to Trenton for each of these lobby days.
Of course, you should look for articles in the newspaper tomorrow that say things like "advocates on both sides of the marriage issue were in Trenton yesterday" because there were indeed about ten (12?) anti-equality advocates there too. And, they were sporting a new look! Gone were the "Let the People Vote" buttons - replaced by t-shirts proclaiming that "Marriage has a Purpose" and that purpose is to make babies, who will be raised by both a man and a woman. (I'm not making this up.)
The marriage equality activists filled the hearing rooms, worked the hallways, and gathered on the statehouse steps for a rally and press conference at high noon, when we heard from some of the folks who would have been testifying at the hearings, had they taken place. As one of the speakers noted - it was freezing outside, but our spirits were red hot!
We also heard from a large group of religious leaders from a variety of faiths - off the top of my head, I remember Jewish, Episcopal, Church of Christ, Lutheran, and Baptist leaders, though there were others. They were reiterating the point over a hundred of their colleagues made earlier today in the Clergy Letter for Equality delivered to legislators - that their freedom of religion is being violated by the state's refusal to recognize the marriages they perform in the sanctity of their houses of worship.
I confess - of all the arguments for passing the marriage bill (legal, moral, economic, fairness, justice, equality, etc.) - it's this one that I can't believe has not yet prevailed. The fact that legislators are literally and openly choosing one faith's teachings over the teachings of others to dictate what the law of our state will be flies in the face of everything I've ever learned about how our country was founded.
But, back to the freezing press conference.
We heard from a number of Assembly supporters - Valerie Huttle, John McKeon and Mila Jasey - each of whom braved the cold to address the crowd with words of admiration that struck me as containing both encouragement and regret. Encouragement to keep fighting for what we all know is right. Regret that the legislature of which they are members has yet to deliver on its promise of equality.
And, everywhere, before and after the press conference, and down every hallway, the conversation was being had - the one that we're going to keep having. About how this should not be happening - a community forced to beg its elected officials to be treated as equals - and how we need to make sure this will never happen again.
This piece, by ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas, originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Promoted by Rosi Efthim, who in full disclosure should say she is proud that a member of her family is an ACLU-NJ board member. But that's not why we're posting this, we're doing that because Ed Barocas is right.
N.J. statute discriminates against couples, families.
In New Jersey's debate over marriage, legislators have suggested making businesses pay for discrimination that lawmakers themselves created with the 2006 civil union law. It seems that the legislature believes discrimination is only a problem when someone else practices it.
During last month's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on marriage equality, family after family testified about discrimination they experienced, ranging from bank tellers to hospital staff, who failed to recognize their civil unions.
But rather than enact the obvious remedy - legalizing gay marriage - five Republican state senators suggested flaws could be corrected by levying "strong penalties" against businesses that fail to recognize the rights of civil union couples and their families. But neither fines nor revisions will fix the discrimination written into this law.
Legislators fashioned a segregated system of rights for one group of citizens in 2006, hoping that somehow separate would be equal. But as history shows us, separate is never equal. Many New Jerseyans have no idea what civil unions are and therefore simply fail to recognize the rights they carry.
If the legislature were to massage the civil union law rather than reform it, businesses could face fines, as well as vast, untold costs to train employees and alter data systems (most business forms recognize people only as "married" or "single"). And taxpayers would foot the multimillion-dollar bill to educate businesses and the public about a law that still would be inherently discriminatory.
Laws don't exist in a vacuum, and the titles we give to our rights affect how those rights are treated in our state, in the country and around the globe. And children of civil union couples suffer most of all.
The most compelling testimony during the Senate hearing came from a student who had been mercilessly bullied at school and from other children who felt like outsiders when they couldn't make their classmates understand their parents' nonmarital status. How can kids on the playground be expected to understand civil unions when businesses and hospital personnel don't get it?
Justice Louis Brandeis said, "Our government is the potent, the omnipotent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example."
What is the legislature teaching by segregating one group from all others? That it's acceptable to have two classes of people with two sets of rights. When the state itself segregates people, it grants the rest of society permission to do the same. Through its example, the legislature excuses bigotry and emboldens bullies.
Senators, the time has come to right this wrong rather than heap the blame and cost of your own discriminatory decision upon others.
Ed Barocas (info@aclu-nj.org) is the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
As New Jersey continues its own winding path toward marriage equality, the big news this week comes from our nation's capitol, where the DC Council voted 11-2 in favor of marriage equality yesterday, with the city's Mayor eager to make it the law of the District. Though it won't silence the race-baiters who keep trying to pit the African-American community against extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples, it is noteworthy that 5 of the 7 African-American Councilmembers voted yes (and marriage expert Marion Barry being one of the "no" votes).
More noteworthy was the study by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, created in the weeks leading up to the Council vote, which found:
more than 10,000 same-sex couples from across the country could get married in the District over the next three years if the measure becomes law ... which could pump millions of dollars into the regional economy
Of course, this isn't the first study to look into the huge economic benefit marriage equality would bring to states where same-sex couples can marry. But, the DC analysis is just another reminder of how important marriage equality is - not just to the people who want to marry, and those who support their right to do so, but to the majority of New Jersey voters for whom the most important issues are finding a job for themselves and having the state find a source of revenue other than their property taxes.
Win. Win. Win!
And what's most noteworthy? New Jersey is uniquely situated to explode those financial estimates, sitting as it does in the shadow of New York state, which recognizes out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
My name is Einat Sapegin. I am only 17 years old, but my story and the story of my family contains more hate, more pain, and more fear than any person's story should.
My family is Jewish, and they're from the Soviet Union, where Jews faced violent discrimination, fewer chances for employment and fewer education opportunities. They had to prove that they were sufficiently non-Jewish to simply live a normal life. Still, they faced adversity. My mother was one course short of earning the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree. Her instructor was anti-Semitic, and despite having similar quality work to her non-Jewish peers, he refused to pass her.
When my mother, father and brother became Soviet expatriates and moved to Israel, they had to prove themselves Jewish enough to receive Israeli citizenship. They fought with officials and religious experts to prove themselves worthy of a homeland that was supposedly guaranteed to all Jews. After they overcame this hurdle, they had to adjust. They had to adjust with a new language, a new country, a new national identity and new people. Most difficult of all, they had to adjust to every new citizen getting a government-issued gas mask as a welcome to the country. I, as a baby, also had a gas mask. That was my
welcome into the world. They had to deal with the knowledge that my father might get on the morning bus to Haifa, but that bus might not make it to Haifa. We weren't living in poverty, but we did learn how to
stretch a shekel, with only my father working, and four people to support.
My extended family chose to go to America, following my uncle and his family at the last minute. Leaving my immediate family in a strange country with a newborn. Eventually, we joined my extended family here in America, but our troubles were far from over. My first year in America, was spent in Elizabeth, NJ, in a small, one bedroom apartment, living with with ten other people. My first years in school were spent being taunted for not knowing English. But I understood enough when a
girl told me that she wanted to crush the faces of all the Jews. I was in second grade, and the girl did not get expelled, suspended or even detention. Her seat was moved across the room, and no one spoke of the incident again. No one even asked if I was okay.
In middle school, there were teases about my weight. There was one particularly bizarre rumor of me being a hermaphrodite. But the most painful, was my coming out to someone I thought was close and trust-worthy, but somehow, everyone knew within two days, and it led
to isolation and general middle school torment.
The reason why I'm telling you this, and not reasons why you should support the marriage equality bill legally is because I'm sure you're aware of the law. I'm sure you know that everyone should have equal protection under law and that the law should apply to everyone the same way. I'm sure you know what the Constitution says.
But you didn't know my story. My story is one of hurt and pain. I have come from too much discrimination and I have experienced too much hate for my new country, for my government and my elected officials to tell me I am not good enough. My story is also the same story of so many GLBTQ people. Dates, names, and places are different, but that's trivial. We have all experienced bigotry.
We are done. We are done having to prove ourselves good enough. We are done asking people to deem us worthy of acceptance. We shouldn't need a special seal of approval. The fact that we are citizens and humans
that are capable of love should be enough. We should not have to stand here and plead and convince you to give us the same rights that you innately have.
No one should have to go through a process to prove themselves worthy of rights that everyone else has, but discrimination will never end as long as the government allows it. Call it a civil union, call it a domestic partnership, but let's call it what it really is-- prejudice wrapped in politically safe convention. If you really thought we were
equal, you would not support anything but marriage. The fact that a government had to create and invent a completely new institution just to keep gays away from straights is completely ridiculous.
I tell you now, we are worthy and we are good enough. We should not need a seal of approval, but we do need your vote. We have come through too much to be turned away and we have come through too much
to be confined to a second-class status.
Because no one should have to endure pain, because no one should have to prove themselves worthy, because we are all human, I urge you to support the marriage equality bill.
I was moved by Thurman Hart's post, here, reaching out to hard hearted Christians.
I post this, in sympathy with that, to assist people in making up their own minds on the issue. I do so tentatively but willingly, nevertheless, because now is the time. This is written using terms or language that some will recognize, but others might find odd.
I hope people find this consistent with Senator Baroni's 'balance of liberties' formulation, which I think should be admired by Republicans and Democrats alike.
On Monday, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in New Jersey asked, as time wore on, "does anyone waiting to testify have something new to add?"
There was a little bit of nutty happening over there in the hearing room yesterday. No worries, babies. Go for marriage equality. Because on that other thing? that free speech thing? I'm here to tell ya, ACLU-NJ's got your back. - - promoted by Rosi
The vast majority of those testifying at last nights Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on marriage equality told moving stories of love, family and justice. We heard from families who had overcome harrowing obstacles and given back to society in humbling ways, children holding out hope that their parents would be allowed to marry each other like their friends' families, and some 50 clergy who wanted to marry their congregants.
In testimony from the other side, although the topic was marriage equality, free speech seemed to play the part of star witness.
One Hasidic rabbi - of whom there were many - voiced particular concern that he would be legally barred from condemning same-sex marriage in his synagogue.
Huh? As an authority on the First Amendment, be assured that you can still slam same-sex marriage all you want at temple.
After the rabbis took the stage, John Tomicki of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage (which represents, as far as I can tell, no one) somehow wound his argument to say that allowing marriage equality infringed upon his religious freedom rights and therefore his right to religious expression. He then asked the senators if they would represent him if he preached his beliefs on the street corner.
Hey, over here, in the overflow room, the ACLU will represent you. Free speech in public places is one of our specialties. Just give us a call (no need to meet in person).
And finally, I spoke with a guy from Knights of Columbus (to his wife's terror) who was dead sure that marriage equality would result in dramatic free speech infringements. "Just look at what happened in Canada," he told me five or six times.
What happened in Canada? Nothing as far as I know. But anyway, we don't live in Canada.
And we have a really strong First Amendment; Canada doesn't.
The spirit of Rick Santorum hovered in the room as opponents let loose their far-fetched fears that marriage between gay couples would lead to polygamy, underage marriage and, if I heard right, bestiality.
Our country has seen steady progress over the past few decades in wiping out homophobia. We've learned that marriage in Massachusetts hasn't brought society to a halt. Our culture has become familiar with images of gay couples raising families and living ordinary lives. Our opponents have but one thing to cling to: scare tactics. It makes you realize how scared they must be, when they're swinging desperately in the committee hearing room. (Unfortunately, confronting those irrational fears will be an ongoing project for our side).
The absurdity of the opposition's arguments in yesterday's committee room made me realize that even though this fight is far from over, it's fundamentally over. We win. It's only a matter of time before we have marriage equality in this country, in every state.
How soon it happens depends on how smart and strategic we can be. It's a question of whether we can put aside our differences to have honest conversations about our beliefs and our lives. How patient will we be in bringing people along? How impatient will we be to get equal rights? How committed are we to working together and keeping the flame alive? The country, as we've seen in a handful of different states this year, still hasn't figured out what the right answers to those questions are.
I recently heard the folk singer Ferron say something like, "Society can only move forward as fast as the slowest person, so you might as well get to the back of the line and try to help push it along."
Based on yesterday's testimony, which was delivered by overwhelmingly by smart, inspiring, amazing human beings standing for their rights, and which included some eloquent truths from Senators Weinberg, Gill and Baroni, the good news is that most people are up here with us. The bad news is too many others are straggling behind.
The last time religious doctrine was used to justify discrimination in marriage, it didn't go so well.
Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.
Lest you think that's a quote from some fringe racist religious nut, you should know it's actually a 1959 quote from Judge Leon Bazile in the Loving v. Virginia lawsuit whose decision was ultimately reversed nearly a decade later by the Supreme Court, which granted the freedom to marry to couples regardless of race, and regardless of the individual religious beliefs of some who disagreed with that decision. Certainly those who objected at the time had the right to their opinions. But, they didn't get to decide the law.
Fast-forward to 2009, and we hear this weekend from the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey in a letter on marriage:
God who created man and woman out of love also calls him to love - the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man.
The letter goes on to present the Catholic Church's official position regarding the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. It is opposed, much as it is opposed to marriage between Catholics and people of different religions. Great. Again, those who agree with this certainly have the right to their opinion. Of course, other religions are not opposed to marrying two people of the same sex, or of different religions. Also great.
The diversity of religious views in America is part of what makes our country great. It's also why the marriage equality bill awaiting action by New Jersey's legislature explicitly states that no religious institution, in accordance with their first amendment right to free exercise, will be required to perform or religiously recognize the civil marriages which the law authorizes.
This is a nation and a state which has always cherished the separation of church and state, and has suffered when it has forgotten the difference.
Maybe you have time this Thursday, December 3rd, to remind your legislators of that by going to Trenton and demanding that the marriage equality bill is posted this legislative session. Just show up at 110 W. State Street, Trenton NJ 08608, beginning at 8am, and lend your voice to the chorus of people who respect both religious freedom and equality under the law.
You've read the stories, seen the photos, and watched the video. Now, find out just what went down in Trenton yesterday, and what's going down in the days ahead during this crunchtime for marriage.
As always, we'll be LIVE, and happy to take your calls during the show. To join in the commentary with your own opinions - or your experiences in Trenton yesterday - give us a call tonight at: 646-652-2773.
If you take part in a lobby day in Trenton where hundreds of people show up to demand equality, you could end up with eight million stories in the Capitol City. But, if you're writing a diary about it, you might have to narrow it down to your personal Top Ten moments from an incredible day. And, here are mine from yesterday:
10- Arriving in Trenton in the early morning to find a huge crowd already gathered - dare I say, fired up? - and ready to make history.
9- Marching down State St. in a parade of hundreds of supporters past the 3 guys and a banner opposing marriage.
8- Wandering the majestic halls of the statehouse in search of legislators (may I say, again - our capitol building is a treasure - guided tours available through the main front entrance)
7- Watching the GSE staffers in action, out-hustling and out-organizing the opposition, and all the while, smiling and having fun.
6- Being there when Senator Gill asked a supporter in the hallway if she could have a Marriage Equality button, and seeing her put it on as she headed for the Judiciary Committee Hearing Room.
5- Turning down the "one man, one woman" button offered to me by a member of the opposition (was my business suit too conservative?)
4- Helping track down an elusive, and visibly nervous, Senator Sarlo to deliver postcards from his constituents in support of marriage equality (third time's the charm!)
3- Seeing the young vets from Veterans for Education finish their testimony before the Judiciary Committee on their bill, and immediately switch gears, and t-shirts, to join the crowd in support of marriage equality.
2- Having Senator Weinberg on our side - behind closed doors, on the steps of the statehouse, around every corner - and having other supportive Senators (and some Assemblymembers - thanks Reed and Valerie) actively working for us in this fight. We will always remember your efforts.
and the number one takeaway from the day ... well, that'll take another click.
Allison looks at Mad Men and sees New Jersey. Hell-o? Then sews it all up with a shout out to her ACLU-NJ friends to join her Monday in Trenton for marriage equality. By the way, this is Allison's first-ever post at Blue Jersey. Beat that with a stick! Thanks, Allison - - promoted from the diaries by Rosi
"Maybe it's not the time for civil rights."
It was shocking when Betty Draper said that to her black housekeeper Carla upon hearing the now-infamous news that a bomb in a Birmingham church had killed four little girls in 1963 Alabama.
Mad Men has become an American pop-culture sweetheart partly because the anachronistic, chauvinistic, homophobic, racist, politically incorrect sentiments sound absurd today. Characters toss back bigotry as easily as a glass of Jameson at the beginning of their workday. It seems just as wrong, and there's about as much slurring in both.
If only the prejudice on the show were actually anachronistic. Earlier this week, New Jersey's Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney told the press that civil rights for New Jersey couples should wait. And we say to him, if not now, then when?
If New Jersey doesn't pass marriage legislation now, any possibility in the near future is as good as gone. We have just a few weeks until Governor Corzine, who supports the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry, officially hands over the reins to Governor-elect Chris Christie, who vocally does not.
We have a state whose majority supports equal rights for gay couples, we have a legislature whose majority supports equal rights for gay couples and we have a governor - for now - who also supports equal rights for gay couples.
But we don't have a leader in the state senate brave enough to say, "That's enough. New Jersey is going to do the right thing."
Instead of taking up the responsibility to do what they know is right, they're taking cover behind the economy. We have four years ahead of us to fix New Jersey's withering finances. We have less than two months to make sure that people aren't forced to live with the indignity of discrimination brought on by civil unions, affecting every corner of their lives, every day of their lives.
I wasn't shocked that Betty Draper wavered on civil rights in front of Carla. Coldness is Betty's signature characteristic; callousness isn't surprising. I was shocked because, from the vantage point of the 21st Century, after this country fought against the legacy of some of the darkest episodes of human history - the middle passage, hundreds of years of slavery, a brutal war that killed more Americans than any other, the failure of reconstruction, the nadir of American race relations, Jim Crow laws, unending injustices - I could not imagine what the world would look like if the leaders of the 60s had thrown their hands up and said, "You know, maybe it's not the time for civil rights."
Americans made it the time for civil rights. They didn't politely ask politicians to pencil them into their schedules - they left the politicians without a choice, and they changed the world. Segregation came to an end, miscegenation laws were repealed, American soldiers protected the rights of African Americans in America's schools and streets, and people across the country rode buses for days to march for miles in some of the most dangerous places in the world for a black person or a Jew. The equality they all hungered for eclipsed their fear of taking personal risks. And those sacrifices make politicians' political fears look like a farce.
Mr. Smith has never lived in Washington, and he certainly doesn't go to Trenton. It usually takes an extraordinary leader to take bold action, even to do the right thing - with one exception. Politicians take bold action when the chorus of Americans together becomes too loud to ignore.
Can you imagine what the world would look like if the people concerned about civil rights in 1963 decided that it wasn't the time for civil rights? Would Loving v. Virginia be a 2009 case instead of one from 1967? Even if we're constantly fighting against backslides in our voting rights, at least we have the Voting Rights Act to hold our government to. We don't have poll-tax free-for-alls.
"But gay rights. That's so new and radical."
It's not, though. We've been in the same place for decades. The Stonewall raids, the assassination of Harvey Milk, the panicked response to AIDS. It was never the time for civil rights back then. So why not now?
January Jones, the actress behind the Betty Draper mask, lampooned her character's cheerful bigotry in a Saturday Night Live sketch that told housewives how to host the perfect party. "Homosexuals should be addressed by Ms. or Mrs., depending on their age. If a black person arrives ... just kidding. A black person won't arrive. That's an example of party humor."
It's tongue in cheek, sure, but it's still the same mindset that declared, "Now isn't the time for civil rights." It's a mindset of exclusion, and it's rooted in the belief that only some people deserve to have their constitutional promises kept. That's not who we are as Americans, and that's not who we want to be in New Jersey.
We've come too far to retreat. The "economy" excuse is a red herring, a false dichotomy, an easy way out, and just plainly and simply wrong. Marriage would bring money into New Jersey, and it would solve the financial straits of gay couples who struggle because their civil unions deprive them of health benefits.
It is the time for civil rights, because our momentum as a country pulls us toward the expansion of rights, not their restriction. I want to be shocked in 40 years because a character on a retro TV show about the early 21st century suggests that now isn't the time for marriage equality. I don't want to live in a world in 40 years where I have to tell myself, "Well, maybe this time we'll succeed."
It's up to New Jersey legislators, who know that marriage equality is the right thing, to secure the civil rights of our state's gay and lesbian families. But it's up to us, the rest of New Jersey, to pressure our state's legislators into not having a choice.
If you live in New Jersey, there are ways you can take immediate action. We need you to e-mail your state senator, call the senate majority leader at 856-251-9801 -- urge him to take up marriage legislation -- and rally with the ACLU-NJ in Trenton Monday, November 23.
We're meeting at: Garden State Equality's New Jersey Office
110 W. State Street, Trenton
Monday, November 23, 2009
8:30 a.m.
If there's a day to take off work for a cause, it's Monday. Your day off could mean a lifetime of equality for families in New Jersey.
If you live in another state, just promise to help us raise hell, deal? If we win, we'll celebrate at the Atlantic City boardwalk. If we lose, we'll go to the casinos and take bets on what we'll see first: civil rights for New Jersey's gay families or a lesbian Miss America.
Update: Can't wait til Monday to help? Call Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney's legislative office now at (856) 251-9801 and tell them you support the marriage equality bill and want it voted on this year, before Chris Christie takes office.
In fact, if you have time, you can double-dip by calling him at his Freeholder's Office too: (856) 853-3390. - JG
As promised, things happen pretty quickly this time of year. And, with the Legislature coming back to Trenton next week for its lame duck session, it's party time:
Garden State Equality is holding an urgent lobby day this Monday, November 23rd, beginning at 8:30 a.m. - meet at our Trenton Office across from the State House, 110 West State St.
Turns out, marriage equality opponents were planning their own lobby day for Monday, to try to kill the marriage bill, and with it, any hope of marriage equality in New Jersey for 5 years or more. We need to show legislators where the real numbers are. We are ever so close to sealing the deal - let's help legislators find the courage to get it done. As GSE's email to supporters makes clear: "If ever there was a time to take off from work to help make history, this is it."
And, not to bury the lead with the fine print, but there will be "free donuts and juice to get the day started. At lunch time, free pzza and soda." So, just sayin' - you really ought to come.
The rest of the details, from GSE's email, below the fold.
Most of my family and friends support marriage equality. Most people I know support marriage equality. Most of Blue Jersey's readers support marriage equality. And if you ask them, they'll tell you so.
But, legislators are busy people, who don't always do much asking. So, we have to do a whole lot more telling. To the right people. Right now.
And Garden State Equality has made it really easy to do just that. In addition to opportunities for volunteering in its offices in Montclair, Asbury Park, Collingswood and Trenton (fill out the volunteer form on their website, and they'll get you all set up), you can be a big part of making marriage equality a reality in New Jersey by donating just three minutes a day to tell a legislator where you stand.
Interested? Just fill out GSE's Three Minutes a Day form, and you will be contacted by a GSE staff member with all the details. By calling select state legislators, and telling them you support marriage equality, you can make a real difference.
If you're a marriage equality supporter who is not calling a legislator every day, you're not talking to the right people.
Uh oh, Jeff on marriage again. Didn't we just talk about this yesterday?
Well, sorry gang - I've gotten impatient. And, with good reason. I've been waiting a long time for New Jersey to find the right time to pass marriage equality. And, being a team player, I've been very very patient.
After all, we couldn't do it in 2004 after McGreevey resigned, because he was a Gay American, and it was too awkward.
And, we couldn't do it in 2005 when Corzine was running, because we had to hold the office.
Obviously, we couldn't do it in 2006 because of all those competitive Congressional races.
Then, we couldn't do it in 2007 because we had to protect our democratic majority in the legislature so we could pass things like Marriage Equality!
We remember clearly that we couldn't do it in 2008 because we wouldn't want to nationalize a New Jersey issue and hurt Obama.
And, finally, we had to wait for lame duck in 2009 because we didn't want to (ahem) distract from Corzine's race against Christie.
If there's one sure thing in politics, it's that there's always a reason not to do the right thing. We've heard them all, and keep hearing them and hearing them and hearing them.
So, we've been patient for long enough. Now, it's time for action. After all, what's the point in having power if you won't exercise it for fear of losing power? If you don't use it, you don't have it. And, we only have it for two more months.
I'd rather be doing just about anything else right now besides fighting for the freedom to marry in New Jersey. I should be relaxing on my day off. Or training for next year's marathon. Or debating Bill Belichick's 4th Down call last night. I've got Christmas shopping to start.
But, I don't have time for any of those things. Why? Because I'm still fighting for equality.
And, one of the more frustrating things about this fight is the misinformation that gets spread about the political ramifications of taking action - that somehow voting for equality could be risky. In fact, the opposite is true - voting against equality is the real risk.
And, if history is any guide - and the marriage battle in Massachusetts is now, mercifully, history - anti-equality Democrats from solidly Democratic districts get primaried and lose. Just ask 20-year incumbent loser Marie Parente:
Outspoken state Representative Marie Parente of Milford, one of Beacon Hill's most conservative voices for more than 20 years, was defeated yesterday in her bid for another term. She was the only incumbent legislator to lose a primary fight.
Sciortino was first elected to the house in 2004, defeating sixteen-year incumbent Democrat Vincent Ciampa in a bitter contest. The 34th Middlesex district is heavily Democratic and the primary election [wa]s the key contest.... Ciampa, an opponent of same-sex marriage, faced Sciortino, who is openly gay.
For a long while now, primaries have been a rarity in the New Jersey Democratic party. Progressives have often looked the other way when it comes to less-progressive democratic incumbents. The theory had always been that securing democratic majorities was good enough to secure progressive results.
But, every time I read about a New Jersey Democratic legislator who is on the fence on the issue of marriage equality - a core Democratic issue which enjoys the overwhelming support of New Jersey democratic voters - it makes me wonder: Do these incumbents really want to fight?
"I am not saying to Christian conservatives, 'There is no place for you.'. I am saying, 'Please stop saying there is no place for us.'
Pam's House Blend points us to comments made to the Christian News Service that Whitman wants the "Preserving Traditional Marriage" plank deleted altogether:
"Well, I am somebody who believes in the separation of church and state and that the government, frankly, ought to be out of the business of marriage entirely," Whitman told CNSNews.com after her speech.
"It ought to be everybody - heterosexual, homosexual. When you go down and register to get married, that's when the legal transfer of everything occurs and that's a legal recognition of a relationship - and if you want to get married in a church, a temple, whatever, and you find one, great!" she said.
..."I would like them to take it out. I just don't think it's an issue that ought to be in a party platform. It's a personal issue, not a political one."
While speaking with CNSNews.com, Whitman also called for the open acceptance of homosexuals and lesbians in the U.S. military.
"I don't care if he is straight," said Whitman, in reference to a soldier's sexuality. "I care if he can shoot straight."
There definitely is a battle in the Republican party right now over what they will stand for and who will lead them. We'll have to see whether they actually get rid of the plank, but these are certainly some bold words from the former Governor.
You asked for it and you got it: In addition to our events on weeknights throughout the year, Garden State Equality will hold additional events on the weekends to accommodate those who work late, those who don't want to brave rush-hour traffic during weeknights, and those who'd like to involve the entire family in the civics of working for marriage equality together.
We're calling our new weekend events... ACTION FAIRS.
The first Garden State Equality ACTION FAIR is this Sunday, February 22 at 2:00 pm in Maplewood at the Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road.
Each ACTION FAIR will have a very exciting format that will entertain and engage you and your loved ones of every age. We'll have activities for kids. We've been cooking up this innovative program for months!
At each ACTION FAIR, there'll be a rotating series of interactive activities right on site where you'll take action for marriage equality and leave the ACTION FAIR with a personal game plan for the week ahead.
Again, please join us at the first Garden State Equality ACTION FAIR this Sunday, February 22 at 2:00 pm in Maplewood at the Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road. We'll serve free sandwiches and drinks. No need to RSVP.
As always, please forward this email to your family, friends, colleagues and list servs.
If you have any questions, be in touch with my wonderful colleague Hannah Johson, Garden State Equality's Field Director, at Johnson@GardenStateEquality.org or cell (920) 222-1878.
Thank you so much.
Best,
Steven Goldstein
Chair, Garden State Equality
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I'll be running one of the workshops on Sunday. Won't find out until Saturday which one it will be.
The first night I volunteered there were about 5 other volunteers. This past Wednesday we had grown to over 30.
If you can't make it, please forward this to someone you know or get in touch with me for information about other upcoming events.
We are quickly building this grassroots movement in New Jersey to make sure same-gender marriage passes in 2009. The more people involved, the faster we can get legislation on Corzine's desk to sign.
