Dear Editor:
In February, a monumental and historical thing happened in the state of New Jersey and I want to make sure that all of you are aware of it. The state senate, the day before Valentine’s Day, approved a bill 24-16 to allow gay marriage to happen in the state. Although at the time of this writing it still needs to be passed by the house I have a great deal of confidence that this will land on Governor Christie’s desk.
The reason why this is such an important moment in our history is that it puts in place the final piece required to have marriage equality in our great state. As a happily married man for almost three and a half years I cannot even imagine a situation where if something happened to my wife I would be treated as a second class citizen in a hospital and would have legal difficulty effectuating decisions on her behalf. Although not every moment of a marriage is a happy one, the right to the same roles and responsibilities given to a heterosexual partner should be extended to our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community.
The reality though is that for this bill to become law, Governor Christie must sign it. Unfortunately, based on his rhetoric, there is a high likelihood that he will veto this bill and it will either have to be overridden by the state Senate with a two-thirds majority vote or have it taken to the people. As a person who keeps a bead on state politics, I am afraid political games from our governor could be a distraction from the important work our Senators do. Members of both houses were elected by the people to make decisions on their behalf.
The governor should do the right thing and accept the will of the people. I implore you, fellow reader, to write and call your representatives to tell them that you are in support of their efforts. More importantly call and write the governor’s office and tell him to do the right thing. I have attached below the details of how to do that: Office of the Governor PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625 (609) 292-6000 Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Thomas Sessa