FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

CONTACT: Jack Bohrer 732-915-6193 / jrbohrer@gmail.com

(PRINCETON, NJ) On Tuesday, December 5th, New Jersey political blog Blue Jersey launched the "Think Equal" media campaign to support marriage equality for all couples. The four part video advertisement and grassroots lobbying campaign focuses on the differences between civil unions and marriage as the New Jersey legislature takes up the issue.

"We were dismayed that the state Supreme Court put off the decision on marriage equality to the legislature, where the political pressure could result in the passage of a civil unions law instead of real marriage equality," said Juan Melli, the lead blogger on Blue Jersey. "We needed to find a way to demonstrate to our legislators that full marriage rights for all couples are the only way to go."

In October the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that the state Constitution required that same-sex couples receive the same legal benefits and obligations given to opposite sex couples through a marriage. However, the Court did not extend those rights and gave the legislators 180 days to settle the issue of how to provide those rights. Some legislators support simply extending marriage to same-sex couples, while others back creating a new legal relationship called civil unions.

"We've seen legal constructs like civil unions fail in the past, giving the appearance of equality but not the reality," said Jack Bohrer, a front page Blue Jersey blogger who co-wrote the scripts with Melli and produced the spots. "These ads are intended to demonstrate that civil unions look nice on paper, but they don't work in the real world."

The first ad in the Think Equal campaign, available at www.bluejersey.com/thinkequal, focuses on problems dedicated couples without a marriage license face while making medical decisions for their spouses. In an environment similar to the popular PC vs. Mac campaign, two women - one in a civil union and the other married -- discuss some of their common legal benefits, and the uncommon ways in which their rights are enforced.

Subsequent ads will be released on the web site over the next week, highlighting issues such as how civil unions and marriages are different in the real world with regard to taxes, social situations and federal legal rights. The Think Equal web site also contains educational materials, longer videos and grassroots lobbying tools for contacting legislators.

Blue Jersey was able to film the ads with professional production, actors and musicians for less than $5,000 thanks to many people volunteering their talents and time for the project. Funding for the ads came from Blue Jersey readers and bloggers, Garden State Equality and BlogPAC. The Think Equal campaign is also soliciting contributions intended to support putting the ads on television in strategic areas of the state to further educate the public on the issue.