New Jersey judge rules same-sex marriage must be allowed

            Though New Jersey was one of four states to allow "civil unions", a judge in New Jersey ruled on Thursday that civil unions were illegally preventing gay couples from receiving federal benefits. It was also ruled that on October 21st, same-sex marriages would be allowed to officially take place. This ruling comes just months after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act that states marriage is strictly between a man and a woman. Personally, I don't think that this should even be an issue anymore. Every state should have marriage equality. It is quite obvious that this is blatant discrimination. The 14th amendment, section 1 states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." By the government denying a certain group of people the same rights as another group, they are going against the 14^th amendment. I believe there are two main issues. One, many politicians cannot seem to understand what freedom between church and state means. Just to sum it up for them, it means that just because they may believe in the Bible, it does not mean they can bring their beliefs to work with them. Two, they need to understand that this is not about them. Politicians too often forget that they are in place to represent not themselves, but their constituents. As Dr. Hill stated, it is not about whether or not you believe in same-sex marriage, it is about fact; and the fact is same-sex couples are being denied equal treatment. I applaud the judge in New Jersey for making the right decision under the law. It is my hopes that sooner rather than later, the other 36 states who do not allow same-sex marriages will follow in New Jersey’s footsteps so that every citizen may have equal rights regardless of who they love. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/us/new-jersey-same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=us_c2