New Jersey's Window of Opportunity for Marriage Equality

categories: Marriage Equality, State LGBT News

Published November 05, 2009 @ 05:18AM PT

New Jersey marriage The marriage equality debate sure moves fast and furious these days. Just days after losing a heartbreaking vote in Maine over the issue, all eyes, ears and phone calls to legislators are heading to New Jersey, where the state has the tiniest window of opportunity to pass a marriage equality bill that will recognize full civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.

Why is that window so small? Because on Election Day, New Jersey voters gave the boot to their current governor, and marriage equality supporter, Jon Corzine. His replacement, Gov.-Elect Chris Christie, thinks that gay marriage is the devil.

So now there's just a two-month window while Gov. Corzine wraps up a lame duck legislative session for marriage equality to pass. And the state's leading LGBT rights organization, Garden State Equality, is coming out like gangbusters to make sure that over the next eight weeks, New Jersey legislators hear loud and clear that the state needs marriage equality legislation to truly value the equal rights for all of its citizens. That includes a wave of television advertisements that launched on Election night, describing how New Jersey same-sex couples lose out with no marriage rights.

New Jersey columnist Tom Moran says that the New Jersey legislature owes it to everyone in their state to debate marriage equality legislation over the next two months. Or they could wait, and deny rights to New Jersey gays and lesbians for at least the next four years, if not longer.

"The political stars, for a few brief months, sit in alignment for a move to legalize gay marriage in New Jersey," Moran writes. "Or we could choose the other option, and punt. We could continue to insult the dignity of thousands of gay couples who live openly among us, often with children, and typically in harmony with the neighbors who know them best."

It would be somewhat of a quid pro quo situation if New Jersey were to recognize gay marriage. That's because the National Organization Marriage -- the nationwide group that poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Maine and millions of dollars into California to repeal same-sex marriage rights -- is located in the Garden State. (They now have a national office in Washington, D.C., but New Jersey is where the homophobic organization calls home.) There would be a nice sense of payback in seeing New Jersey move forward on marriage equality, given that the National Organization for Marriage has been so successful in leaving gay rights advocates hurting on post-Election Day mornings.

Check out the commercials below. Are these the type of ads that might move legislators to support marriage equality?

(Photo courtesy of essygie's photostream on Flickr.)

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Comments (9)

Hopefully this bill will pass, but the outlook isn't good for it.

Even if it does, sadly the same thing that happened in Maine is likely to happen again.

Posted by Paul Hockhousen on 11/05/2009 @ 01:58PM PT
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Most hopefully, New Jersey will recognize the important right of same-sex marriage before the intolerant conservative Chris Christie takes office. It was sorrowing, and still is, to have seen oppression win in Maine when the greatness of equality was close. The National Organization of Marriage doesn't know what marriage is because marriage is about love and committment, which certainly includes lesbian or gay couples. The first ad is the best of the two.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 11/05/2009 @ 02:22PM PT
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I hope the bill passes because everyone deserves the right to marry the one they love.

Posted by Sarah McConnaughey on 11/05/2009 @ 05:36PM PT
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why is this happening to us...geeez. we're actually gonna have to fight for this, like african americans and women back in the day...gay people are the next discriminated community. i just wish it wont take as long as it took women or african americans.

Posted by Lance Prescot on 11/06/2009 @ 01:06AM PT
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unless Scalia changes his mind on the issue it will take longer. I say this because people outright refuse to accept the scientific definition of sexual orientation, accept the fact that homosexuality is not a choice and cannot be change, and accept the scientific fact that homosexuality is as normal, natural, and positive as heterosexuality.

There is far more complexities in this fight as compared to the other too. However let it be concluded that we all know who is leading this fight to strip people of their rights, and in time eradicate them.... religions.

Posted by Chris Marshall on 11/06/2009 @ 05:21PM PT
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Not all religions mr. marshall.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 11/17/2009 @ 04:43AM PT
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The second ad is the best. We did too many touchy-feely ads in Maine. We need edgier ads like the second one above. We have to ridicule people who think we should not be allowed to marry and make them look like the heartless idiots that they are.

Posted by Jay Jonson on 11/07/2009 @ 04:49PM PT
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I tend to agree, Jay -- we need edgier ads that hit hard. The other side puts up TV spots that say "gay people will take over public schools" or "your child will be forced to learn about gay sex in the classroom" or whatever, and we have to respond five times more powerfully with messages of our own.

Posted by Michael Jones on 11/08/2009 @ 05:53AM PT
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I would love to see my home state join the home state of my father in taking a position of equality and as for the videos...

I liked them both and I think they should both be used BUT I also think we need public service announcements by respected scientists comming out and debunking the lies of the bible thumpers...Now that would be a big help in my opinion.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 11/17/2009 @ 04:48AM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.