What’s up, New Jersey? Did you know that your state senate is going to be voting on marriage equality tomorrow? And do you know what you can do to make sure that your state senate passes marriage equality? It’s so easy: the best, most constructive thing you can possibly do is to call your state senator and urge him or her to vote yes on the marriage equality bill.
If you don’t know who your senator is, you can find all their names listed by town here. And if you live in Princeton (since many of this blog’s readers do), your senator is Shirley Turner, who is as yet undecided about her vote and whom you should ABSOLUTELY call. Her phone number is (609) 530-3277 and there is no reason you shouldn’t pick up the phone and call her office right now.
Be sure to let your senator know if you belong to a demographic which would be personally affected by marriage equality, or if you belong to a demographic that’s supposed to oppose marriage equality. So if you’re a person of color, tell your senator. If you’re Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Mormon, or Orthodox Jewish, tell your senator. If you’re a member of the clergy in any religion, tell your senator. If you’re a registered Republican or otherwise identify as conservative, but still support marriage equality, tell your senator (especially if your senator is a Republican too!). And, of course, if you’re LGBT, if your friend or relative is, if you have two moms or two dads, if you would really actually like yourself and all your friends and loved ones to have the same rights as each other and if you believe in justice for all, then call the New Jersey state senate and let them know that.
If you’re a resident of New Jersey you have absolutely no excuse to refrain from calling your senator today. It takes all of two minutes, so procrastination is not an acceptable excuse, nor is being too busy. If you’re not registered to vote in NJ, or if you’re not an American citizen, that’s no excuse: by virtue of living in NJ, your state senator represents you and your needs, too. You don’t even have to believe in the importance of the issue of marriage: this bill’s passage will be symbolic, and it will turn the tide in a disheartening fight for civil rights. Picking up the phone, calling your senator’s office, and talking for 30 seconds is the single most important thing you can do to make it possible for New Jersey to become the next state to stand up for equality.
Emily Rutherford 