Dear Gov. Corzine:
I hope you don’t mind me writing to you at a sensitive time when you’re dealing with your recent election loss, but your loss came in honor: You made tough decisions that benefited the citizens of New Jersey rather than improve your chances of re-election.
And that, sir, is what I write to you about today: honor. Specifically, the honor of LGBT people. There are many items on your agenda before you leave Trenton, and you might believe that marriage equality is just a small one. The reality is that it is not, and here’s why it needs the attention of an honorable governor with strong leadership skills.
As President Obama has stated, the struggle for LGBT equality is to our time what the civil-rights movement was in the 1960s. The 1960s movement was brought on by visions of black Americans being blocked at every crossroad and being treated as second-class citizens.
One of those images is that of Alabama Gov. George Wallace standing in the doorway of a school so that black children could not enter and the schools would stay segregated. In those days, blacks and whites went to different schools in the Deep South. They were said to be “separate but equal.” In the case of marriage equality, Gov.-elect Chris Christie is standing in the chapel doorway, blocking equality. And, like Wallace, he proudly states that he’d veto any equality bill. Christie is that governor standing in that doorway. And for what?
The answer is nothing — except to keep LGBT people as second-class citizens. With all due respect, there is no logical debate against equality. The most-often-used argument is religion. Sir, we in the LGBT community respect the rights of all, including those of all religions. This legislation does not change the manner in which any religion practices its beliefs. No church, synagogue or mosque would be required to hold LGBT weddings. No religion would be forced to marry gay people in its house of worship, just as Catholic churches do not allow a non-Catholic to marry a Catholic with all the rights and privileges of the Church.
The reality is that, due to the current laws of New Jersey, only one thing will change: the wording that creates equality.
Before your term ends, I have one request: Urge the legislature to pass the marriage-equality bill for your signature.
Words are powerful. They can be used to show hate and contempt while standing in a doorway. Or they can bring tears of joy to a couple and their friends and family while creating a bond that betters the community in which they live.
Governor, thank you for your leadership. New Jersey is truly a better state today, thanks to your management of the last four years.
Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at [email protected] .
