Twelve years to the day after Garden State Equality v. Dow made marriage equality the law of the land in New Jersey, state and faith leaders are condemning recent remarks from one of Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign advisors calling for a “ban on same-sex marriage.”
In 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Garden State Equality v. Dow that civil unions were unequal and that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry, cementing New Jersey as one of the first states to recognize full marriage equality.
“Today should be a day of reflection and pride for how far we’ve come,” said Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director of Garden State Equality. “Instead, we’re reminded how fragile progress can feel when candidates running for governor stand beside people calling for the government to tear families apart. Marriage equality isn’t up for debate — it’s the law, it’s settled, and it’s sacred to thousands of New Jersey families who fought for the right to love openly and live equally.”
Fuscarino continued, “Jack Ciattarelli may think aligning himself with hate will help him politically, but New Jerseyans have made clear for over a decade: we don’t go backward. The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed our families’ dignity, and we intend to protect it every single day.”
The statements were made by the Ciattarelli campaign’s Director of Muslim Relations, Ibrar Nadeem, at a Muslims for Jack event last week. He went on to praise Ciattarelli for voting against marriage equality while in the Legislature, then says a family comes into being only “when a man and a woman gets married.” During the same remarks, Nadeem also said he is not “taking money from Jews.” Ciattarelli, who spoke immediately after, applauded Nadeem and said “he hasn’t let (Ciattarelli) down one day.”
“It is reprehensible to see a member of the Ciattarelli campaign spew homophobic and antisemitic comments — and then for Jack Ciattarelli to immediately praise him right after these statements,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “It’s long past time for Jack to show leadership by forcefully condemning the language and severing ties with this individual. There is no room for hate in New Jersey, especially from the ‘inner circle’ of the Ciattarelli campaign.”
Bishop Kevin E. Taylor, Prelate of Jurisdiction 2 for the Unity Fellowship Church Movement Inc., added a faith-centered perspective on the importance of legal protection and moral clarity:
“Marriage equality is the law of the land, and it’s shameful that anyone who’s faced discrimination would try to deny others the same dignity. Any sentence that starts with ‘ban’ and doesn’t end with ‘weapons’ weaponizes hate itself.
I tell couples every day: protect your love and your rights. Marriage isn’t just a ceremony; it’s a safeguard for your family, your home, and your peace. Don’t let anyone take that from you.”
For couples who lived through that fight for equality, the recent comments strike a particularly painful chord. Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster, Ocean Grove residents and plaintiffs whose 2007 discrimination case helped pave the way for Garden State Equality v. Dow, said:
“We’ve been together for nearly three decades — long enough to remember when our relationship wasn’t recognized, respected, or even safe to speak about. When we finally married in 2013, it wasn’t about politics — it was about protection, love, and the dignity we had waited a lifetime to see reflected in the law.
Hearing anyone talk about banning same-sex marriage is a painful reminder of what we fought so hard to overcome. Marriage equality didn’t take anything away from anyone — it gave countless couples like us peace, stability, and the ability to care for one another in our final years. That’s what love does — it builds, it protects, it endures.”
As extremist rhetoric resurfaces nationally, Garden State Equality reaffirms its commitment to protecting every New Jersey family — because love, not hate, defines this state. Twelve years after Garden State Equality v. Dow, New Jersey remains a national model for equality under the law—and Garden State Equality vows to ensure it stays that way.