Smart Politics

by digby

I read that Jon Corzine signed the new civil unions bill in New Jersey yesterday as a result of the NJ supreme court ruling that the state had to create marriage equality for gay people. There is an interesting story about this that I think is instructive for progressives as we start to dig our way out of this conservative era.

First, I should say that I don’t have a big problem with civil unions in that I think they should be available everywhere for people who aren’t religious. I’m happily married, but I would have been very glad to have had a civil union if there had been such a thing available and it offered exactly the same legal benefits. The word “marriage” holds no particular significance for a godless, dirty hippy like me who believes in all kinds of non-traditional social arrangements.

Having said that, this country’s legal system and social traditions are all designed to benefit people who are “married” and there’s no sense in denying that. So I’m sympathetic to the notion that civil unions for gay people are a separate-but-equal concept that relegates gays to a different standard than straights for no good reason. Many are religious and would like the option of a legal religious ceremony, and basically they just want society to recognize that they have the same right to create a family as anyone else. I understand that, and if I were gay I might very well insist on the right to “marry” rather than accept a civil union compromise.

Unfortunately, the nation is slow to embrace that wholeheartedly, so a series of interim steps seem to be the most logical way for people to grapple with this. The question for progressives is how to keep the momentum going so that the idea of marriage is not foreclosed. I think what they did in New Jersey is a valuable primer on how these things are done.

First, it’s important to recognize that the court gave the legislature no choice but to come up with some sort of scheme that would allow gays the same legal benefits of marriage as straight couples. The question was whether the legislature would go full out and open the doors to marriage or create civil unions. But another question lingered as well — would they create civil unions and also foreclose the possibility of marriage, something the court did not preclude them from doing.

Some progressives and gay rights advocates in New Jersey made the decision to apply as much pressure as they could on the legislature to go for marriage, and in the process moved what was almost pre-ordained to be a civil union bill, to one that would cause some pain on any legislators who tried to mollify their right flank with an accompanying vote to take marriage completely off the table. It left the door open and that means that progressives won’t have to reinvent the wheel when the time comes around to revisit the issue. This is smart politics.

Speaking at the signing of the civil unions act in Trenton this morning, Senator Loretta Weinberg told the audience she looks forward to revisiting this issue. Weinberg also said she believes the state will achieve marriage equality by the end of her next term (January 2012).

Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality had this to say:

Today we celebrate not a destination, but a journey.

Gay marriage wasn’t even on the radar 20 years ago and I expect in 20 more years it will be legal. This is social progress that cannot be held back. But it pays to be always thinking one step ahead with these things, paving the way for it to be easier on the next round —- moving the goal posts back our way with each move.

A lot of credit for redicovering how progressive politics are done can be given to young, smart activists like Juan Melli, the man behind Bluejersey.com, who has been named New Jersey politician of the year. He and his cohorts did amazing things during the election season in New Jersey — and they came up with a very effective series of web ads on the gay marriage legislation that were designed to appeal to the common sense and decency of people who are just now figuring out what they think about all this — including the legislators who voted on the issue.

This is progressive politics today. It’s happening all over the country. Give it up for the new kids.

.