Equity For Me, But Not For Thee

A new civil union law proposed by the New Jersey Family Policy Council, the Equal Benefits Act, would provide equity to all New Jersey residents in response to the recent state Supreme Court mandate requiring New Jersey to give gay couples the same legal rights as straight couples.

Steven Goldstein, of the gay-rights group Garden State Equality, called the family council proposal "dead upon arrival and an utter joke."

Apparently Garden State Equality is against the proposal because it is “inclusive”, “nondiscriminatory” and goes beyond offering protection for just gay people. The proposed law would “extend the legal rights of marriage to all partnerships, romantic or not”. The Act would allow everyone to benefit from “legal partnerships, such as two female senior citizens living together, or a grandparent and a grandchild, who want to share a health-insurance policy or pass along workers' compensation survivor benefits”.

The equity for me, but not for thee crowd has been exposed. Their fight clearly is not for equal treatment for all, but for special treatment for their group.

"They are going to be hearing from our families in the next 30 days, big-time, and that will change everything," said Buckel, who argued the Supreme Court case on behalf of the seven gay couples who sued for the right to marry. He said there were 20,000 gay families living in New Jersey.

"It may be they're hoping to put the issue to rest, but I think... it will just get all the hotter if these families are told they're second-class."

We suggest Garden State Equality stop telling people they're “second-class” and embrace the concept of equity for all – gay and straight. The Equal Benefits Act recognizes the changing concept of family and the economic interdependencies of all people living in the Garden State. It’s too bad Steven Goldstein lacks an open mind and compassion for the plight of others who are different from him.