Think Equal Benefits Act!

A couple of Blue Jersey bloggers have created ads to supposedly explain why New Jersey’s legislature should enact a gay marriage law instead of a civil union law. We have yet to hear a good reason why the state should not opt for the civil union approach - whatever law adopted will comply with the state's Supreme Court ruling requiring gay partners to be afforded the same benefits as married couples.

We also have yet to hear why the proposed Equal Benefits Act is unacceptable to the Think Equity crowd. Gay people are not the only partners facing discrimination under state law. The Act would extend the legal rights of marriage to all partners living together in financially dependent relationships and would certainly be more equitable than a law that strictly benefits gay couples. Is it fair or equitable for the state to be able to steal a shared house from a surviving sister through the state’s inheritance tax, but unfair if the two women were gay? The legislature should take this opportunity to create true equity with a civil union statute that’s fair to all.

We don’t know how effective Blue Jersey’s Juan Melli and Jack Bohrer’s ad will be in convincing people to back gay marriage. Most woman and anyone familiar with New Jersey’s income tax form will find their ad’s content ridiculous. And to think the two “went into debt fronting the $4,000 production costs for the ads”.

Against a plain, white background, two women sitting side by side personify the differences between being married and being "civil-unionized."

In one of the spots shot on Monday in a Brooklyn film studio on North 12th Street, the married woman is carefree with her shoes kicked off enjoying a pint of ice cream as she completes a crossword puzzle.

The woman in the civil union can't relax. She's stuck doing her income taxes – stumped on the form's marital status question because she doesn't fit any of the three choices: married, divorced or widowed.

"You should upgrade to a marriage," the married woman says.

The screen fades to show only the words, "Think Equal."

When civil unions become law in New Jersey, all partners will have to do is check a slightly revised box that’s labeled “civil union partner” instead of the current “domestic partner” box on the state’s income tax form.

Think Equal Benefits Act!

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