Though the wounds from Maine are still fresh, it's important to remember that it wasn't all bad news on Election Day. Washington state managed to push through their "everything but marriage" domestic partnership law. Kalamazoo, Michigan voted 62-38 to extend anti-discrimination protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. Chapel Hill, North Carolina elected Mark Kleinschmidt, an openly gay man, as mayor. And there's even more good news beyond that!
With that said, there's one issue that's looming with an air of hope and potential despair. Republican Chris Christie beat out Jon Corzine in the New Jersey gubernatorial race. Corzine had recently promised to sign a marriage equality bill if it hit his desk, but Christie's been advocating for NJ voters to decide on the matter.
Garden State Equality is now upping their efforts to get same-sex marriage legislation approved before Corzine leaves office. Yesterday, they released a fantastic video that both reinforces that gay couples are just like their heterosexual counterparts and shows that some straight folks think that the idea of "preserving the institution of marriage" is completely ridiculous. Keep your fingers crossed!
– Dewitt
To watch Garden State Equality's ad, follow the JUMP:
It’s sad that heterosexual people are so worried about homosexual couples getting married. What if they were told that they couldn’t marry the person they love? Better yet, what if they were called names for holding hands or chastised for kissing in public? But it’s ok for them to take our hard earned money to support their families. I am not anti-heterosexual, my parents and siblings are all heterosexuals…I’m just venting.
I’m SUPER DUPER glad they had a non-white heterosexual testify on behalf of gay marriage. Blacks and Hispanics see this as a White thing. In some ways, I was hoping against hope that the gay couple were two black lesbians. The Black community definitely needs to see that we are them too, otherwise they’ll keep joining the White Right to vote against even things like single-adoption (which actually negatively impacts Black kids disproportionately).