The New Jersey State Senate voted against a bill legalizing gay marriage. The vote was 20-14 with 3 abstentions. New Jersey has been suffering under Democratic government for quite awhile. As a gay marriage supporter, I was hoping that outgoing governor John Corzine, who has been terrible for the state, might be able to leave on a positive note by signing a gay marriage bill into law. Unfortunately he won't get the chance.
The failure to get a gay marriage bill passed in a liberal state such as New Jersey, demonstrates again that complete equality for gays has still not won majority public support. Attitudes are changing, but the change is incremental. I'm not sure how long it will take until a majority shifts in favor of gay marriage. I have no doubt that gays wanting to marry here in New Jersey will feel -- and rightly so -- that they shouldn't have to wait for equal rights. Some will probably attempt to utilize the court system to get gay marriage legalized by judicial fiat, against the wishes of the majority. While I sympathize, I think that's a bad strategy which can lead to an anti-gay backlash. Unfortunately, I think gay people in most states are just going to have to wait, and work to change attitudes.
No real problems with gays in general, but why force the issue. Clearly marriage has been historically defined as between a man and a woman, so therefore two men or two women marrying would not be the same. Just come up with a different word and offer the same advantages and get over it.
ReplyDeleteGetting the government out of marriage entirely is another option.
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