ONTD Political

Mayor Cory Booker's Spontaneous Marriage Equality Speech

11:16 am - 01/28/2012
Transcript:

'I've got very, very strong feelings about this... [...] But dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote subject to the sentiments of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and sentiments of the majority. This is a fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for. And I get very concerned that we have created in our state, we refuse to address, call it like it is... that we've created a second class citizenship in our state. That's what we have in America right now. We have two classes of citizens. Jackie Robinson said that the right of every American to first class citizenship is the most important issue of our time. Let's stop the ruse. We have two types of citizens right now in our state: citizens like me, who, if I choose to marry somebody, I can marry somebody from a different country and they have a right to United States citizenship. I talked to somebody last night, his spouse is looking to be deported.. their SPOUSE is looking to be deported. I've got a right, people against taxes, that if I die, I'm married, this first class citizenship that I have says that my estate taxes, my wife will get to avoid my estate taxes. The second class citizens in this country don't have those rights. There's over a thousand federal things, federal laws that create different classes of American citizenship because we're not treating everybody equally under the law. I read the 14th amendment clearly. It talks about "equal protection under the laws." And that was never something that should go up to a popular vote, whether blacks, women or other minorities should be equal first class citizens. Thank God Jackie Robinson, there wasn't a popular vote whether he should join.. be a professional baseball player. And so, to me this is INFURIATING.. that we are still in the 21st century and we haven't created equality under the law. And so I will be fundamentally in the fiber of my being supportive of equal citizenship for all people in this country because I know at the end of the day I would not be here, my family would not be able to put food on the table for me, if it wasn't for that ideal in America.[...] Don’t just point to the Governor – we had the chance to do this under the last Governor, and we didn’t have the courage to stand up and do the right thing. So I'm tired and exhausted that we have a country that has been able to overcome women having a second class position in this country, blacks having a second class citizenship in this country, Latinos having a second class citizenship in this country, blacks and whites who want to marry having a second class citizenship in this country. It’s about time we create first-class citizenship for every American, plain and simple. Every New Jerseyan. This should not be a popular vote. This is something we should do now... to me it's ridiculous and offensive that we're still having this debate in Trenton. It should have been done months, if not years ago.”

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Source: Video

I think it pretty much says it all.
the_gabih 28th-Jan-2012 05:40 pm (UTC)
Who is this guy? I like him.
dawn9476 28th-Jan-2012 05:43 pm (UTC)
Mayor of Newark. I think some have said they would like to see him become governor of NJ eventually.
bent_ley 28th-Jan-2012 06:03 pm (UTC)
there is a documentary (i think it got an oscar nom..) about him called 'street fight'
thepuddingcook 28th-Jan-2012 10:19 pm (UTC)
And a series called Brick City!
kseda 28th-Jan-2012 05:46 pm (UTC)
That's my...mayor of the city whose airport I fly out of and maybe future governor!
roseofjuly 29th-Jan-2012 08:14 am (UTC)
Hahahaha! So true! /lives in New York
nycscribbler 29th-Jan-2012 03:39 pm (UTC)
That's my... mayor of the city my team has been exiled to for two more summers!

/lives in New York
bent_ley 28th-Jan-2012 06:04 pm (UTC)
i like him mostly. very charismatic. but he seems to get in bed with christie a lot which i do not like
youkiddinright 28th-Jan-2012 06:26 pm (UTC)
But dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote subject to the sentiments of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and sentiments of the majority.

Every time I hear some variation of this sentiment, I want to create puppies and kittens and babies out of thin air.
thepuddingcook 28th-Jan-2012 10:21 pm (UTC)
TRUTH!
xerox78 28th-Jan-2012 06:41 pm (UTC)
Is he the Twitter snow shovel guy? :D
ceilidh 28th-Jan-2012 07:12 pm (UTC)
One person let Booker know, via Twitter, that the snowy streets were preventing his sister from buying diapers. About an hour later, Booker was at the sister's door, diapers in hand.

I think I just fell in love. *_*
msloserrific 28th-Jan-2012 08:17 pm (UTC)
I still lol at the fact that he blew up that one kid's spot.

IIRC, some kid basically was mad that the mayor wasn't at his place helping him to shovel snow in HIS neighborhood. Well, Booker does show up, and the kid's mom is the one doing the shoveling. Public shaming follows.
alryssa 29th-Jan-2012 01:13 am (UTC)
Daaaaang.
roseofjuly 29th-Jan-2012 08:15 am (UTC)
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 09:03 am (UTC)
Its funny that people bring up the incident but never bring up the fact that Booker laid off many of the sanitation workers guys who had been on the job 20,30 yrs were left with no job. But than Booker turns around and hires a private non-union company to handle the city' sanitation and snow removal.
kazekageshad 28th-Jan-2012 07:32 pm (UTC)
He's a real politician?!
danceprincess20 28th-Jan-2012 07:53 pm (UTC)
I'm so in love with him...I don't know why he won't just marry me. A 15 year(ish) age difference is nothing....
doverz 28th-Jan-2012 08:05 pm (UTC)
So awesome.
nikoel 28th-Jan-2012 08:44 pm (UTC)
Yes!! I've been shouting about this because there's a good chance marriage equality will be put up for popular vote in my state and far too many people are flippant about it. It needs to be passed by the legislators not by the popular vote!
omgangiepants 28th-Jan-2012 08:58 pm (UTC)
I just

love Cory Booker a lot
bettalaylow 28th-Jan-2012 09:00 pm (UTC)
Corey Booker is a fraud though a very bright fraud. He's a complete of the public workers in his city and has no qualms about selling out to Crispy Creme.
simply_blah 28th-Jan-2012 09:11 pm (UTC)
Could you clarify this comment?
roseofjuly 29th-Jan-2012 08:15 am (UTC)
this comment made me laugh :D
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 08:55 am (UTC)
He slashed 21% of the city's workforce yet maintains multiple members on his staff that make 6 figures. He's essentially trying to privatize public education with the creation of Charter Schools. Oh in case you thought these schools were being created by well-intentioned indivduals many of these schools were founded by political bosses and men from the financial sector. Oh and Booker travels with his own private army meanwhile many of the imporovished are left to fend for themselves in drug and gang-infested neighborhoods.

But hey it's all good he shovels old lady's drive ways, hangs with Oprah, and uses twitter!
myrana 29th-Jan-2012 11:46 am (UTC)
I don't know too much about Cory Booker/Newark, so I can't really comment on what you've said on schools, but just to pick you up on your last point regarding drugs/gangs - hasn't Booker managed to massively reduce violent crime during his tenure as Mayor? I always thought that was what he was well-known for.
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 01:27 pm (UTC)
According to what statistics? A report just came out this week that has Newark ranked as among the Nation's highest in gang-related murders. A crime as a whole has been on an increase these past two years. Many Newark residents thinks the Booker administration is cooking the books with crime statistics. Same as the last administration.


Also you'll be hard-pressed to find any Newark residents that shares the sentiments being echoed in this post.
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 01:39 pm (UTC)
One of the ways the screw with crime statistics: if I'm shot and die on the street it's a homicide. But if I make it to the ER die a few days later they'll often classify it as something differently. Also there have been situations were victims are discouraged to report crimes. This isn't just to bash th NPD because they've gotten hit with 167 layoffs but Newark Booker is a total facade and he's just using a desperate population to profit financially and politically.

Someone wants to build a new detention call up Booker. Panasonic is relocating it's North American headquarters to Newark the state gave them a tax credit of 102 million but how many job opportunities will be offered to Newarkites, how many of the workers from Panasonic will be contributing to the local economy other than the money spend on their lunch and breakfast in the city.
spiegel11th 29th-Jan-2012 12:51 am (UTC)
He's a complete of the public workers in his city

I think you accidentally a word.
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 08:56 am (UTC)
I meant to say enemy of public workers.
johnjie 28th-Jan-2012 10:31 pm (UTC)
Wow, this man sounds on point. Kudos to him.
romp 28th-Jan-2012 10:45 pm (UTC)
that's refreshing
nycscribbler 28th-Jan-2012 11:29 pm (UTC)
Keep being awesome, Cory Booker. Then do something about the bums around Penn Station. But mostly keep being awesome.
bettalaylow 29th-Jan-2012 09:00 am (UTC)
Those bums around penn station are people with severe mentall illness most likely off their meds. Corey Booker allows Newark to be the dumping ground of all ex-cons, mentally ill, or anyone that society has given up on. And you're worried about them I'm more worried about the 16 yr olds walking around with heavy duty weapons and will use them at the smallest provocation.
tabaqui 29th-Jan-2012 12:26 am (UTC)
Love it. Excellent, and 100 percent correct.
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