A Garden State of Mind

News this week is that the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey is considering whether they, or the New Jersey Legislature, should consider whether same-sex marriages should be recognized as legal in The Garden State. For the record, those of you who are regular visitors to this blog (oh, all two or three of you) can probably figure out my position, which is that couples in long-term committed relationships, whether single-sex or opposite-sex, should at the very least enjoy the same tax and legal benefits. While particular religious denominations might not recognize same-sex couples as being married in God's (or Pat Robertson's) eyes, the legal protections of marriage should be available to any two people who step up to the plate and make the commitment. Frankly, it's not as if heterosexuals are doing such a great job upholding the institution, if you look at the divorce rate. And why shouldn't same-sex couples enjoy the same lives of quiet desperation as we do? I'm sure that the old joke about "why does a bride smile at her wedding" holds equal sway on the same-sex side of the aisle.

But I digress. The purpose of this post is NOT to condone or blaspheme same-sex marriage, it is to respond to a news story I heard the other day (on NPR, naturally), which listed some of the "friend of the court" filings made in conjunction with this case...including social service organizations, both pro- and anti-gay groups, various denominations, etc. But one struck me -- and why bother looking further when it's much easier to just react -- I found it kind of odd that one of the filers of Friend of the Court briefs was Monmouth Rubber and Plastic Products, Inc.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.