Evan Wolfson on the NJ Marriage Case
Evan Wolfson, former director of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund marriage project and current director of Freedom to Marry, wrote a leter to the NYTimes. This is the guy who has been at the forefront of this issue since before you knew it existed. He’s also trained a lot of the lawyers still working on it. When the good guys win, you’ll have him to thank. On the other hand, if you hate freedom, you know who to blame. Evan taught me a lot about this issue and how to think about it constructively.
To the Editor:
Re “New Jersey Court Backs Full Rights for Gay Couples” (front page, Oct. 26):
The unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruling opening the door to marriage equality for gay people is a resounding recognition of the equal needs and common humanity of committed same-sex couples and their children.
The court said these American families are entitled to equal rights and responsibilities under the law.
As the Legislature moves now to carry out the Constitution’s command of equality, we are confident that legislators will see that the right way to end discrimination in marriage is indeed to end discrimination in marriage, not repackage it.
The easiest next step is not to cobble together a separate new system with two lines at the clerk’s office, but rather to end the exclusion from marriage itself with two simple words, “I do.”
That the Zogby and Rutgers-Eagleton polls show a majority in New Jersey supporting gay couples’ freedom to marry should make it easier for legislators to do what’s right.
Evan Wolfson
New York, Oct. 26, 2006
The writer is executive director of Freedom to Marry.
October 27th, 2006 at 9:14 am
Only comment I have to that letter is if the majority of the people in New Jersey wanted this why did it take judicial legislating to get it there?
October 27th, 2006 at 10:26 am
The Zogby poll showed 56% of New Jerseyians favored marriage equality. The Eagleton poll showed 66% percent favoring civil unions OR marriage and 49% favoring marriage. Add in the margin of error, and the majority for marriage is pretty thin. Majority support for civil unions, though, is not in question.
Legislatures do not always represent public opinion. If they did, our taxes would be zero and none of them would ever collect a paycheck. There’s an intensity imbalance on the marriage issue. Here’s my guess: on the right, people hate marriage equality so much that it drives them to the polls and plays a large role in deciding who to vote for. On the left, people believe in marriage equality, but your average voter doesn’t get so angry about it that it makes more likely to vote.
This is going to be a close one, and I am hopeful but only cautiously optimistic.
And as for this being judicial legislation, I have no idea why you would say that. Have you even read the opinion? Do you have any clue what is in the New Jersey state constitution?