Maine is one of my favorite vacation spots. I’ve gone there ever since I was two and my parents took me camping along the coast. One of my earliest memories is of the moose that came wandering around our cabins one morning.
I wrote about Maine before the election, and noted that once again, the Right was making children the focus of their attacks. “Gay marriage will mean children will be taught about it in schools,” they shrieked.
Protect Maine Equality did a better job than California’s Prop 8 campaign at not falling into the trap of protesting, “No it won’t,” implying that there was still something wrong with such teaching. Instead, they focused on how marriage equality would mean equality for all families. Still, it was not enough.
Garden State Equality is already out of the gates with television ads showing not only that marriage equality means fairness for all families, but that marriage inequality hurts families and children, in very real and tragic ways. Will it be enough?
That remains to be seen—but let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that Gov. Jon Corzine’s reelection loss means we should give up hope. As Steve Goldstein, executive director of Garden State Equality, said in an e-mail, we could still make marriage equality happen in New Jersey if we act quickly:
Jon Corzine has been an spectacular Governor for the LGBT community, deeply committed to winning marriage equality, and he will still be Governor through mid-January. He will be working with the two staunchly pro-marriage equality leaders in the legislature, Senate President Dick Codey and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts — two of the savviest public servants you could meet. They will be joined by Jon’s running mate, Senator Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey’s all-time champion of LGBT equality. We’re thrilled to have this all-star team on our side in these last months of the Governor’s term.
To members of the LGBT community who have focused on other states, it’s time to stop treating New Jersey like Rodney Dangerfield. It’s time to give New Jersey more respect, attention and yes, resources.
Our state is every bit as sexy as the other states: We are the home state of the National Organization for Marriage, and we need your help to beat NOM on its home turf. We are also a populous state, a huge prize for the moment. In fact, when New Jersey wins marriage equality, it will increase by 50 percent the number of Americans living in a jurisdiction with marriage equality. New Jersey has roughly as many residents as all the other marriage equality states combined.
While we must keep plugging away as we can in Maine and elsewhere, all eyes should now shift to New Jersey for a big push before the gubernatorial changeover. Visit gardenstateequality.org for how you can help.
Maine is a huge disappointment, but we should also note last night’s victories. Washington State voters upheld extensive domestic partnership rights. An LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance passed in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Lesbian mom Annise Parker took the highest percentage of votes for the mayorship of Houston, Texas. (She was below 50 percent total, however, placing her in a runoff with the second-place candidate.) Openly lesbian and gay candidates won city council seats in St. Petersburg, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Maplewood, Minnesota; Akron, Ohio; and Salt Lake City, Utah, and a board of education seat in Canton, Ohio, among other places.
Some reasons for hope, then, despite the loss in Maine. As Susan of Crunchy Granola Tweeted last night, however, “the arc of the moral universe feels more like a rollercoaster.”
Hang on to your popcorn, folks. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. I have to have faith, though, that we can still make a difference. That faith (religious or not, take your pick) is what has sustained previous civil rights movements. When we lose it, the other side really has won. We had enough victories last night to tell me we’re not at that point yet.
Besides, defeatism is not a value I want to teach my child. Digging deep for the extra effort is.
Onward . . .
Great post. Especially the part about what we want to teach our children.
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Just want to say that No on 8 started out with a message of fairness and equality – our first ads took that tack – but in our LONG campaign we eventually had to fight the smear-tactics. Moreover, it’s clear now that simply introducing the fear-based argument that “they’re getting to your children” is enough to turn the tide against us. It really doesn’t matter how logical or compassionate or fair our arguments are, once you activate and engage the brain-stem logic “my children are threatened” you move the debate out of the head and into the gut – and in their guts, most people fear what is different.
Interracial marriage never won at the ballot box, and it never would have as far as we can tell. We need government to act like government and protect the rights of this minority. I have given up on winning a popular vote. Popularity is overrated.