LGBT Orgs Respond To NJ Court Ruling ‘Same Sex Couples Must Be Allowed To Marry’
State and national LGBT civil rights groups are responding to the NJ Superior Court’s ruling this afternoon that demands marriage begin for same-sex couples.
Garden State Equality
“We have been saying it for months and it stands true today: through litigation or legislation, we will win the dignity of marriage this year,” said Troy Stevenson, Executive Director, Garden State Equality, via an email statement. “We just won the first round through litigation and we will continue to fight until we guarantee marriage for all New Jersey couples.â€
Indeed, immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its DOMA decision in June, Stevenson said:
“When I took this job six months ago, I declared that this year New Jersey would have marriage equality. People scoffed, they laughed, and they said no. I’m going to stand before you today and say whether it’s through litigation or legislation, I promise you with no reservation that New Jersey will have marriage equality before the end of this year.â€
Via Facebook today, GSE added that “there is still work to be done, but this is a historic day!!!!”
Freedom to Marry
“Today’s court decision affirms what loving and committed couples in New Jersey have known all along: civil union is no substitute for the protections and dignity of marriage,” Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said via an email statement. “Every day of denial in New Jersey is an emotional and tangible burden on same-sex couples and their families. Now that civil union has been proven unconstitutional in the court of law, it’s the time for the legislature to act quickly. As a lead partner of NJ United for Marriage, Freedom to Marry is working hard to secure the votes needed to override Governor Christie’s veto on New Jersey’s freedom to marry legislation so that the long wait ends for committed couples in the Garden State.â€
Human Rights Campaign
“Civil unions are separate and unequal, particularly in light of this year’s historic Supreme Court term,†said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Chad Griffin. “There are no rational arguments why couples in New Jersey should be relegated to second class status. State officials should not appeal this sound decision and no longer stand in the way of loving couples being able to make a lifelong commitment with full state and federal recognition.â€
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund Â
“This is a significant victory for same sex couples in New Jersey,” Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Lesbian and Gay Task Force said via an email statement. “The state’s motto is ‘Liberty and Prosperity’. Now lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples will get the chance to experience the ideas behind the motto through the freedom to marry. We applaud Garden State Equality, New Jersey United for Marriage, ACLU and Lambda Legal on today’s victory. We’ll celebrate today, and tomorrow we will continue the hard work of changing legislator’s hearts and minds until the freedom to marry is guaranteed for all New Jerseyans.”
American Civil Liberties Union
“This is a great day for all of New Jersey. The court has recognized the love and commitment that same-sex couples share is no different from anyone else’s,†said Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey. “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Windsor to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act made it clear that civil unions discriminate against same-sex New Jersey couples. Today’s decision leaves no doubt that only the freedom to marry provides the equality that same-sex families deserve. We encourage the state to respect the court’s decision and to not further prolong the inequality suffered by New Jersey families. The ACLU-NJ will continue to work with our allies across the state to encourage the legislature to bring full equality to New Jersey as soon as possible.”
“The court got it exactly right. Civil unions aren’t marriage, and they aren’t equal,†said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “No married couple would trade the word ‘marriage’ for the words ‘civil union.’ But while we praise today’s ruling, committed same-sex couples shouldn’t have to wait for the courts. The legislature should grant them the freedom to marry now.â€
Lambda Legal
“The Supreme Court opened the door to federal benefits, and now the Court in New Jersey has ruled that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry,” Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director said. “This news is thrilling. We argued that limiting lesbians and gay men to civil union is unfair and unconstitutional, and now the Court has agreed. The end of DOMA made the freedom to marry even more urgent than before because the state stood between these families and a host of federal protections, benefits, rights and responsibilities. With this ruling, our clients and all of New Jersey’s same-sex couples are at the threshold of the freedom to marry.”
Speaker Christine C. Quinn
“Today’s court ruling declaring the State of New Jersey can no longer deprive same-sex couples the right to marry is a victory for civil rights across America,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn via an email statement. “I applaud Judge Mary Jacobson for sending a clear message to the nation – that no one should be denied the security and benefits of marriage because of who they are, or who they love.
“This decision marks another important step in the march toward full equality and justice for all Americans. Those who stand in the way of justice fail to understand something fundamental about the American people: that we are a nation founded on the belief that equality is not a gift to be granted or taken away, but an inexorable part of what makes us human. I thank Lawrence Lustberg and his team from Gibbons PC and Hayley Gorenberg of Lambda Legal for their tireless efforts to bring marriage equality to New Jersey, and our nation. Today’s ruling advances the efforts of New York City’s own Edie Windsor and further underscores the impact of the bravery of Edie and the legal work of Roberta Kaplan.
“We will not stop fighting until all Americans are recognized as fully equal.â€
New Jersey United
“Clearly this is a monumental decision and a tipping point in the fight for marriage equality in New Jersey,” said Michael Premo, campaign manager for New Jersey United For Marriage via an email statement. “The court saw what over 60% of New Jerseyans believe: that all loving, committed couples deserve the freedom to marry.
“Still, we realize this is not the end. Rather than wait for the continued deliberations by the judiciary, we must continue our work in Trenton. NJUM is committed to ending the injustices faced by loving and committed couples as quickly as possible and urges the Legislature to enact the freedom to marry before January 14th.â€
RALLY FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Tonight at 7pm at the @GSEquality office in Montclair. RT to spread the word! #NJ4M pic.twitter.com/USuJlaj398
— NJ United (@NJ4Marriage) September 27, 2013
Marriage Equality USA
“It’s a brand new day since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark marriage decisions in June,” MEUSA Legal and Policy Director John Lewis said via an email statement. “While today’s decision may be appealed, it shows the accelerating pace of progress towards the day when all New Jersey couples are treated equally under the law.
“The people of New Jersey favor equal marriage rights by margins of 2-1 in the latest polls,” said MEUSA Program Director Tracy Hollister. “Because this decision can be appealed, we need everyone to continue to work in both the courts and legislature to make marriage equality a reality in New Jersey.
“We will not rest until we have full equality from coast to coast,” said MEUSA Executive Director Brian Silva. “Marriage Equality USA and our project, the National Equality Action Team (NEAT), appreciate the tremendous momentum generated by today’s ruling as we continue the day-to-day work of making the freedom to marry a reality in New Jersey and nationwide.”
Family Equality Council
“Today’s decision is a major victory for New Jersey families, especially the approximately 3,300 same-sex couples in the state who are raising more than 6,000 children,†said Family Equality Council Executive Director Gabriel Blau via an email statement. “Marriage will provide their children the necessary legal and economic stability they need in life. We call on New Jersey officials to respect this decision and to respect the freedom of loving couples who wish to demonstrate their commitment to each other and their families.â€
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Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is under fire after releasing a video declaring that new allegations against him are false, yet he is “taking time to reflect” on a path forward.
Politico on Monday afternoon reported that a woman who dated Platner, Jenny Racicot, “says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”
“Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner,” Politico reported, “for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”
In a video posted to social media eleven minutes after the Politico story dropped, Platner says, “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
He said he and his supporters “were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, in a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
“Those were the goals when we launched this campaign. And they remain my goals today.”
“Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated. And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, a political commentator who served as the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign, blasted Platner.
“I’m sorry but ‘we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward’ is not an option on the table,” Miller wrote. “Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down.”
Journalist Ryan Grim, commenting on Platner’s video, noted that Platner “strongly suggests he is considering dropping out. Already Troy Jackson and Chellie Pingree, both gubernatorial candidates, are being kicked around in Maine circles as potential replacements.”
Several others, including Puck News’ Peter Hamby, predicted Platner will be dropping out.
Platner had postponed several campaign events before the Politico story was published.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a video of children — including showing their unblurred faces — graduating from kindergarten, with some of the girls purportedly wearing hijabs.
“President Trump posted a captionless video of graduating kindergarteners on Truth Social on Monday, goading his supporters into verbally attacking little children simply for being Muslim,” The New Republic reported. “The clip is from Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. It shows about 21 children in caps and gowns on stage singing a song together. Most of the girls are wearing hijabs.”
The original post of the video which Trump reposted reads: “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.”
Trump did not add any comments. TNR called the post “Islamophobic, weird, and creepy,” while noting that the comments section of Trump’s post was filled with calls “by racist, xenophobic MAGA supporters” to “deport the children and ban hijabs.”
TNR also noted that it “should come as no surprise that Trump isn’t above attacking children who just learned how to read, but this post is still particularly discomforting—and will certainly contribute to the already potent level of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and in Minnesota.”
Critics blasted Trump.
“There is something deeply unsettling about the president of the United States—the most powerful person in the world—going after kindergarten schoolchildren in Minnesota because they wore hijabs, as Trump has done this morning on his website,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote.
One social media commentator wrote, “Trump posted an unblurred video of more than a dozen Muslim kindergartners to Truth Social, exposing the children’s faces while targeting them for their religion.”
Another added, “Trump is a bigot. The president took to Truth Social to attack kindergarteners in hijabs. These are little kids. The president isn’t just a bigot, he’s also a coward.”
The original video was posted to the X social media platform in June.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time commented, “If you are in a public school in America, you should be speaking english.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s apparent efforts to delay releasing the $5.8 million civil judgment to E. Jean Carroll are being met with a warning by the journalist’s legal team, who suggest there could be a legal maneuver for Trump to employ to forgo paying the judgment in either of the two cases he lost.
According to The Guardian, on July 4, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to release the $5.8 million judgment, which is in escrow, to Carroll by this coming Tuesday — or explain why he would not do so.
Carroll’s attorneys think Trump may be trying to buy time to mount another legal strategy, telling the judge that Trump’s request for an extension “appears to be little more than yet another play for time.”
“The case is separate from Trump’s appeal of a Manhattan civil jury’s 2024 award of $83.3m to Carroll for defamation,” The Guardian explains. “But her lawyers have suggested a legal scenario in which the president might seek to conjoin the cases and further delay payment of both.”
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote, “We can only assume that defendant is seeking … to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying plaintiff presumably in connection with his forthcoming petition and motion for a rehearing.”
Trump’s former attorney, Justin Smith, in one of his final acts, wrote to the Supreme Court suggesting that his client would be appealing the $83.3 million civil judgment.
Smith argued that the Supreme Court “may wish to consider the petitions together,” given they involve the same parties.
The larger judgment case involves possible questions of presidential immunity, and that has Carroll’s attorneys concerned.
“A conjoined case, Carroll’s lawyers fear, could result in both judgments being wiped out,” The Guardian reports.
The president has also made clear he is no fan of Judge Kaplan, after the jurist made several rulings that “angered” Trump.
“What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023, “speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
Image via Reuters
Platner Scorched Over ‘Taking Time’ Video After New Accusation
Trump Sparks Fury Online After Posting Unblurred Video of Muslim Kindergartners in Hijabs
One Legal Maneuver Threatens to Undo Everything E. Jean Carroll Won
Inside the Group Helping MAGA Voters Walk Away — And What Finally Pushed Them
