Voice for Equality: Loretta Weinberg

Loretta Weinberg is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served as a member of the New Jersey Senate since 2005, where she represents the 37th legislative district. Weinberg served in the state Assembly before being selected to replace retiring Senator Byron Baer. Weinberg was the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey in the 2009 election, having been selected by Governor Jon Corzine as his running mate on July 24. Corzine and Weinberg were defeated by Republican challenger Chris Christie on November 3, 2009. Weinberg serves on the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (as Vice-Chair) and on the State Government Committee (also as Vice-Chair). She is a former member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Learn more here.

As the sponsor of the marriage equality bill in New Jersey (Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act), Senator Weinberg has been tireless in her commitment to seeing the LGBT community treated fairly in the state of New Jersey:

I've campaigned all over the state, and based on my unscientific poll, people in New Jersey don't care about other people's marriages. I've never had a single person bring this up to me. And I'm talking about street fairs, restaurants, wherever. People care about their own marriages, and their ability to support their families. [Link]

In response to some legislator's argument that the 2009 lame duck session might not be the right time for a marriage equality debate, Senator Weinberg said, "This is an issue of fairness. It’s not like we’re going to miss out on a chance to fix the economy during the lame-duck session because we’re spending a couple of hours debating this. It is a matter of civil rights." [Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes Loretta Weinberg as a Voice for Equality! Learn about all our Voices for Equality here.

If Senator Weinberg's support inspires you - get involved!

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

Help keep Garden State Equality's ads on the air with a donation. And if you're a New Jersey resident, contact your legislators and let them know that voting on and passing marriage equality in this session is not negotiable.