Marriage equality clears the first hurdle

The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to release the marriage equality bill to the full Senate by a 7-6 vote. Sen. Bill Baroni, a Republican who represents Middlesex and Mercer counties, stayed true to his word and voted to support the bill, which would grant same-sex couples the right to marry but grant religious groups an exemption from being forced to recognized or perform the marriages.

Voting against the bill were the committee’s other four Republicans — including Jennifer Beck, who represents parts of Monmouth and Mercer counties — and two Democrats, the committee chairman, Paul Sarlo, and its vice chairman, John Girgenti.

The religious objections, understandable if left to the religious realm, are inappropriate within a secular context. The Catholic Church — and other religious groups — want to imprint their religious philosophy (or in the case of the church, only a portion of its philosophy, with it weighing in loudly only on abortion and homosexuality, but not the death penalty or poverty issues), which is a violation of the religious rights of other denominations and the secular.

The legislation sponsored in the Senate by Loretta Weinberg and several others and in the Assembly by Reed Gusciora and several others protects the rights of the religious and the rights of same-sex couples and should have been supported by every member of the committee.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet