On Oct. 25, the New Jersey State Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision affirmed that same-sex couples have the right to the same legal rights as heterosexual couples under the state’s constitution.
While the ruling did not go as far as to affirm the right to marriage for same-sex couples, it provided for all the economic
 |
The decision is not a total legal victory. But it is a step toward full marriage equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It reflects the tremendous impact that the struggle of LGBT people has had on shaping perspectives in the United States.
From the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969, to the militant struggles of the1980s in the fight against government inaction on the AIDS epidemic, to the struggle for domestic partner benefits, to the current struggle for marriage equality, the mobilizations and organizing by the LGBT community have been decisive in challenging the bigoted morals, ideas and laws of society under capitalism.
The ultra-right bigots loyal to the Republican Party have seized upon the ruling in an effort to gain ground in the upcoming mid-term elections. They are trying to whip up bigotry to overcome the overwhelming unpopularity of the Bush administration’s policies on the Iraq War and numerous domestic issues, so that they don’t lose both houses of Congress on Nov. 7.
Bigotry a product of capitalist society
The bigots demagogically claim that the ruling is an attack on the “eternal institution” of marriage between a man and a woman. They use religious texts to affirm their beliefs that same-sex marriage equality would mean the end of the family as we know it. But the bigots’ attacks are unscientific rants meant to achieve political goals.
The family unit is not a static entity removed from the bounds of science, society and progress. Unlike 30 or 40 years ago, most people no longer live in households comprised of a female homemaker, a working father, two kids, a cat and a dog.
Today, the family is much more diverse, reflecting the economic changes created by capitalist society that no longer make it possible for a single person to provide for a family. The bigots blame “moral decay” and homosexuality for this situation.
But these bigots really don’t represent the interests of the vast majority of working class people, their families and loved ones. While the bigots say they speak in the name of all families, they do not. They are acting as mouthpieces for a tiny “family” of billionaire bankers, industrialists and corporate CEOs, who profit from the labor of millions of workers.
In order to protect their wealth, the capitalists and their representatives work tirelessly to pit working class people against each other based on our differences. The capitalists fear that we will unite against them based on our common interests and experiences. They employ anti-gay bigotry as one tool to keep workers disunited.
People are not born with innately anti-gay beliefs. The ideas that encourage bigots to carry out acts of violence and murder against homosexuals come from the ruling capitalist class. Karl Marx wrote in 1845, “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” Today in the United States, those ideas are the ideas of the capitalist class.
Such ideas do not correspond to the daily reality of the working class. That is why the demands made by the marriage equality movement resonate with working-class people regardless of sexual orientation. Those who work for a living can relate to the need for having survivor benefits, hospital visitation rights, medical benefits and spousal benefits.
The legislative initiatives to preempt this movement and codify marriage as being restricted to a man and a woman appeal to backward views rooted in social relations that do not reflect modern life.
Just like the southern segregationists who tried to block desegregation, the homophobic bigots will not be able to put the same-sex marriage movement back into the closet.
