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06-27-2003, 07:16 PM

from: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...ng/6070393.htm

Gay-marriage drive heats up in N.J.
By Deb Price

One of New Jersey's claims to fame is that it's where Thomas Edison found an ingenious way to harness electricity. Now, 124 years after the invention of the first practical electric light bulb, energy is again being harnessed in creative ways in New Jersey.

Steven Goldstein feels electricity crackling through the crowd every time he convenes a town meeting to discuss why seven of the state's gay couples are suing for the right to marry.

``I haven't seen such passion in New Jersey since Bruce Springsteen last played here,'' says Goldstein, who is helping organize the town halls for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. ``You feel like you are in a rock concert. People are screaming with joy at the historic opportunity to achieve justice.''

Having excitedly seized that marriage lawsuit, which soon goes to trial, as an opportunity to educate and energize New Jersey, Lambda and 99 other groups have sponsored 10 town hall meetings, holding them everywhere from inner-city Newark to commuter suburbs to the beach town of Cape May. More than 3,000 people have turned out to listen and ask questions about the harm done when gay couples are excluded from the legal, financial and social safety net of marriage.

``We are going to start seeing victories soon in the freedom-to-marry movement,'' Goldstein predicts. ``You can feel it and sense it.''

He feels it in the power of the standing ovations that the seven couples receive at the town halls, which will continue. He feels it in the energy of the more than 500 people who recently packed into a Presbyterian church to learn more about opening up the institution of marriage to those of us who are gay.

``Our side is now equalizing the right-wing in terms of intensity,'' Goldstein says. ``A maxim in politics has been that the anger of the right-wing minority often drowns out the quiet justice of the majority. That is no longer the case.''

One measure of the enormous positive energy in New Jersey is the list of town hall sponsors, which includes the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers and a great many churches and synagogues.

The growing power of the fight for fairness is also evident in a new poll, conducted by New Jersey City University, of residents of Hudson County, a blue-collar, predominantly Roman Catholic area.

A local paper declared the results ``shocking'': 56 percent of adults favor allowing gay couples to marry; only 34 percent don't. Among the county's Catholics, 60 percent say yes to gay marriage.

The good news doesn't stop at New Jersey's borders. Statewide polls in May found that New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents favor gay marriage. New Hampshire favors it by 54 percent to 42 percent, a University of New Hampshire survey showed. A Boston Globe poll found that, by 50 percent to 44 percent, residents support it in Massachusetts, where the state's highest court is expected to rule on the issue any day now.

Goldstein offers tips for marriage advocates in other states:

• Get personal. ``We live in an age of Oprah! People respond to life stories.''

• Knock on every door. Don't write off anyone -- regardless of age, party or faith -- as unreachable.

• Build coalitions with public-spirited non-gay groups.

``The right-wing's goal has been to shut down the discussion,'' says Evan Wolfson, director of the Freedom to Marry Collaborative. ``The only way we can lose is by running away from the discussion.''

The idea that gay couples need marriage to fully protect our families is gathering energy: A light bulb is turning on in the mind of the nation.

06-27-2003, 07:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
kuifje75 Guest Posts: n/a	from: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...ng/6070393.htm Gay-marriage drive heats up in N.J. By Deb Price One of New Jersey's claims to fame is that it's where Thomas Edison found an ingenious way to harness electricity. Now, 124 years after the invention of the first practical electric light bulb, energy is again being harnessed in creative ways in New Jersey. Steven Goldstein feels electricity crackling through the crowd every time he convenes a town meeting to discuss why seven of the state's gay couples are suing for the right to marry. ``I haven't seen such passion in New Jersey since Bruce Springsteen last played here,'' says Goldstein, who is helping organize the town halls for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. ``You feel like you are in a rock concert. People are screaming with joy at the historic opportunity to achieve justice.'' Having excitedly seized that marriage lawsuit, which soon goes to trial, as an opportunity to educate and energize New Jersey, Lambda and 99 other groups have sponsored 10 town hall meetings, holding them everywhere from inner-city Newark to commuter suburbs to the beach town of Cape May. More than 3,000 people have turned out to listen and ask questions about the harm done when gay couples are excluded from the legal, financial and social safety net of marriage. ``We are going to start seeing victories soon in the freedom-to-marry movement,'' Goldstein predicts. ``You can feel it and sense it.'' He feels it in the power of the standing ovations that the seven couples receive at the town halls, which will continue. He feels it in the energy of the more than 500 people who recently packed into a Presbyterian church to learn more about opening up the institution of marriage to those of us who are gay. ``Our side is now equalizing the right-wing in terms of intensity,'' Goldstein says. ``A maxim in politics has been that the anger of the right-wing minority often drowns out the quiet justice of the majority. That is no longer the case.'' One measure of the enormous positive energy in New Jersey is the list of town hall sponsors, which includes the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers and a great many churches and synagogues. The growing power of the fight for fairness is also evident in a new poll, conducted by New Jersey City University, of residents of Hudson County, a blue-collar, predominantly Roman Catholic area. A local paper declared the results ``shocking'': 56 percent of adults favor allowing gay couples to marry; only 34 percent don't. Among the county's Catholics, 60 percent say yes to gay marriage. The good news doesn't stop at New Jersey's borders. Statewide polls in May found that New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents favor gay marriage. New Hampshire favors it by 54 percent to 42 percent, a University of New Hampshire survey showed. A Boston Globe poll found that, by 50 percent to 44 percent, residents support it in Massachusetts, where the state's highest court is expected to rule on the issue any day now. Goldstein offers tips for marriage advocates in other states: • Get personal. ``We live in an age of Oprah! People respond to life stories.'' • Knock on every door. Don't write off anyone -- regardless of age, party or faith -- as unreachable. • Build coalitions with public-spirited non-gay groups. ``The right-wing's goal has been to shut down the discussion,'' says Evan Wolfson, director of the Freedom to Marry Collaborative. ``The only way we can lose is by running away from the discussion.'' The idea that gay couples need marriage to fully protect our families is gathering energy: A light bulb is turning on in the mind of the nation.