Trenton's cold feet
over gay marriage
By Monica Yant
Kinney, philly.com from the Web, October 30, 2006
Why am I not surprised that instead
of thanking the New Jersey Supreme Court for respectfully kicking last week's
gay-marriage ruling to the Legislature, politicians are instead griping about
having to make difficult decisions on a deadline?
These guys are never satisfied. Had the court ruled entirely on its own,
legislators would be complaining they'd been denied a say. Yet when the
justices give them a piece of the action, the pols whine that the work is too
hard and they don't have the time.
Me, I'd like nothing more than to see these chumps charged with contempt if they
blow the 180-day deadline by one minute. If only democracy worked that
way.
These are, after all, the same lawmakers who have spent months holding hearings
about property-tax reform, all the while keenly aware they have no clue what to
do and plenty of money to pay their own bills.
The same Legislature whose Joint Committee on Ethical Standards apparently has
none, sanctioning a mere eight members in 34 years.
The same Legislature that knows exactly how much it costs the state ($253
million in last 23 years) to maintain an unused death penalty (last execution:
1963), but can find neither the will nor a way to abolish it.
And yet, elected leaders act fast when it suits them. Like when they want
a raise. Ever notice how those bills speed through the system?
Respectful disagreement
David Buckel argued Lewis v. Harris on behalf of seven same-sex couples,
and if he had his way, the court's say would have ruled the day.
Leaving the fine print up to legislators makes him nervous -- especially since
the most powerful people in Trenton are already predicting they can't (or
won't?) get the job done in a timely fashion.
"The court referred this matter to the Legislature out of respect for them,"
Buckel told me Friday. "It would be quite a slap to respond by taking no
action at all."
The easiest, fastest remedy involves writing two sentences.
Something like, "Henceforth, throughout the statutory framework, same-sex
couples will be equal to different-sex couples."
And, to put church leaders at ease, "Religious denominations retain the right to
deny any couple a ceremony in their house of worship."
Buckel's fear? That the legislators, who are all up for reelection in
2007, are so afraid to allow gays and lesbians to "marry," they'd rather draft
hundreds upon hundreds of new, separate-and-almost-equal statutes for the
state's 20,000 same-sex couples and their 12,000 children.
That, he says, would "create one of the largest bodies of discriminatory law" in
state history. Not exactly what the Supreme Court had in mind.
Spinning their wheels
State Sen. John Adler (D., Cherry Hill) agrees that in times of crisis or public
outrage, his colleagues can make laws quickly and cleanly. Two weeks, two
months -- it can happen.
"We absolutely can get this done in 180 days," he says. Whether they will
"is a function of politics."
That part puzzles him. It's not like the fight for gay rights is new.
Domestic partnership passed two years ago. Polls show a majority of state
residents support gay marriage.
Adler's recent amendment to the Domestic Partnership Act passed 39-0 in the
Senate in January with no drama.
"We've already done this twice in two years," he says. "There was no
political fallout. We've already overcome the hurdle."
So what's the holdup?
Even misplaced fear can become paranoia in politics. Perhaps some
legislators figure that doing nothing -- or pretending to do something very,
very slowly -- will force Buckel to bring the case back into court.
The Supreme Court would not look kindly on being ignored. Maybe, just
maybe, the justices would be so steamed they'd do the heavy lifting the pols are
too weak to attempt.
That would not only give the legislators political cover -- blame the court, not
us! -- but help them cruise to victory next November.
They've got hearings to hold, you know? People to see, notes to take...
Contact Monica Yant Kinney at 856-779-3914 or
myant@phillynews.com. Read her
recent work at
http://go.philly.com/yantkinney.
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