Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Why I Am Going to Trenton Tomorrow

Over at Center of NJ Life, Sharon writes why she is going to Trenton tomorrow. Geoff at Gay in Public eloquently, and regularly, expresses why he is going to Trenton tomorrow.

The nuts and bolts of it is here: The NJ State Senate is voting on marriage equality tomorrow, and we're going to show our numbers and to speak to legislators before the vote, to urge them to vote for an equal right to marriage.

And I've been thinking of saying why I'm going to Trenton tomorrow, but I can't narrow it down to one reason. So here's a handful of them. It'll probably come as no surprise that a few of them are selfish.

1. I like weddings, and I don't want to wait until my nieces and nephews and my friends' kids are grown to go to more of them. But most of my straight friends are already married.

2. I don't like exclusive, segregated clubs. And as a spouse, I belong to one: The Married People of America. It's not a club I'm willing to quit, so it's on me to help open the doors for everyone. (Luckily, they've already started opening, and momentum is on our side.)

3. I want to see my friends happy, and treated equally under the law.

4. I want to see people I don't even know happy, and treated equally under the law.

5. I want to see my enemies miserable, and treated equally under the law.

6. I'm an American, and believe that each of us was created equal. Any law, any regulation, and any tradition that doesn't recognize that equality is unacceptable. We can do better.

And tomorrow, we will.

See you in Trenton.

Rob

3 comments:

Sharon GR said...

Damn right. I'll see you in Trenton.

Geoff said...

I was so incredibly happy to see you guys there today! Thank you thank you thank you for coming. I wish we could have given you a better outcome, but I honestly think participation in the losses is every bit as important--and ultimately satisfying--as being there when we win.

Rob S. said...

I agree, Geoff. And it was great seeing you there, and being there for this, no matter the outcome. This is far from the beginning of this journey, but there's no chance at all it's the end. Time to see it through.