Same-sex couples in New York are marrying today, which is great. For LGBT allies in neighboring New Jersey, however, today is "bittersweet," says Steven Goldstein, founder and chairman of Garden State Equality.
From Goldstein's op-ed in New Jersey's Star-Ledger:
Today is bittersweet for thousands of us in New Jersey's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and even more of our straight allies.
We celebrate today as the first day that same-sex couples in New York will avail themselves of the freedom to marry. But same-sex couples in New Jersey are still denied that freedom — and that juxtaposition hurts like hell.
Gay couples have filed a lawsuit to win marriage equality in New Jersey and activists will today call up their lawmakers asking them to start pushing for same-sex nuptials. In the meantime, though, gay couples in the Garden State have no choice but to look longingly across the Hudson and think, "Why can't we have the same rights as our next door neighbors?"
Democracy isn't always pretty, folks, nor is it always fair.
