Someone has to say it - most americans think gays should have equal rights

[ourbluenation]

and that's what the NJ court says too. equal protection under the law...I am not worried about this in terms of the elections.

[greeneyedboy]

1. true. ignore the desperate spin and don't let it divide or distract us.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/25/nj-supreme-court-gay-couples-entitled-to-equal-spousal-rights/

[ourbluenation]

3. thx - pulling out this part of your article...

(3) The decision today is entirely consistent with the democratic will of New Jersey residents. The New Jersey legislature already enacted a domestic partnership bill two years ago which recognizes, and grants a whole array of marital rights to, same-sex couples. But the way the laws were written, some rights were still assigned only to "married" couples. The court decision today simply requires that those same-sex partnerships have all of the rights which are given to married couples. But New Jersey voters, through their representatives, already approved of recognition of same-sex relationships two years ago.

(4) Finally, a majority of Americans have long (since at least 2004) approved of civil unions of the sort which this decision mandates. The decision is purely within the mainstream of American beliefs. It is those who oppose not just gay marriages, but also civil unions, who are on the fringe. Polls even show that the anti-gay-marriage referenda which Republicans placed on the ballot this year in states such as Virginia and Wisconson have far less support than they did in the past. The ability of Bush followers to distract from their ineptitude and corruption by demonizing gay people and exploiting the gay marriage issue is rapidly diminishing.

[FyurFly]

2. I agree...but

There are still lots of folk who think it would make Jesus cry if two guys or gals exchange marital vows.

[Zybelline]

4. vows

[ourbluenation]

5. skrew them - why go fishing in that pond when there are more people

in the bigger pond who are okay with equal rights for gays.

[Chipper Chat]

7. Jesus would be the best man.

And would be the first to toast the happy couple.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. Scary gay marriage is soooo 2004. n/t

MKJ

[Richard Steele]

8. True. Very true.

And any asshat who gets "motivated" to go vote Repub
because of the NJ decision was probably pretty motivated
to vote Repub already.

This simply ISN'T gonna cause some huge swell of
reactionary-voter turnout.

[ourbluenation]

11. and there's DU'rs who are buying into this nonsense. STOP IT! n/t

[nam78_two]

9. Indeed/nt

[Kahuna]

10. NJ isn't Ohio. The repukes won't try to use this issue against us.

Believe that.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

15. Hell, both our Dem & Rep senate candidates share the same views.

I don't think the NJ Republicans could use this issue against us if they tried.

[KAZ]

12. Most folks I know feel the same way.

Hopefully we'll look back on this time and...
Anyway, they lost the "war". And I'm dancing!

[LostInAnomie]

13. I'm not sure about that.

A lot of people pay lip service to "equal rights" but when the rubber meets the road and someone demands those rights all the high minded talk goes out the window.

A lot of people will say openly that they think blacks are equal to whites but that love of their fellow man disappears when their daughter brings home a black boyfriend.

Sadly, man's better nature only comes out when an issue doesn't really effect them.

[ourbluenation]

14. well I'm sure about it. most people know someone who's gay and they

get that they're just like everyone else, pay their taxes, and deserve the same rights and protections provided by the constitution.

[Hippo_Tron]

16. I think the culture has dramatically shifted even since the 1990s

I remember when I was in elementary school during the 90's, the worst thing you could be called was "fag". By the time I was in high school, though, that wasn't really the case and most people seemed to be more or less accepting of gays or at leas they didn't have a problem with them having equal rights.

Maybe this is an isolated instance or maybe it's just a sign of maturity among my classmates but I think that over the past few years we have made great strides in accepting homosexuality. I think that's why the religious wrong has become even more mobilized politically in the past few years than they already were. They can't stand the thought of homosexuals being accepted, so they have to fight the "gay agenda".

Granted there's still far too much homophobia in this country, but I think that we are heading in the right direction as a society.