Dear Freeholders of Ocean County -

When I heard what you were doing to Ms. Hester and Ms. Andree I was appauled, shocked, dismayed, and horrified. Ms. Hester spend 24 years of her life in public service to your county and this is how you are treating her? This is not right!

Being gay and having a life partner is not a violation to the sanctity of marriage - it is a celebration of the bond two people have for one another. The real violation is when people get married without being prepared for it, or getting married as some sort of statement. If you have read any of the statistics from countries that have legalized gay marriage you would see that while heterosexuals have a divorce rate of about 50%, homosexuals have a divorce rate of about 12%. Does this sound like a “violation of the sanctity of marriage” to you?

You use religion as a basis for your decision. What happened to the seperation of Church and State? Was this one lost on you? Do you not remember learning about this in grammar school? I do. And once again it makes me sick that someone in your positions could use something like religion to decide on the laws and actions of this state. What is next? Burning of Witches (again)? Selling little girls into sexual slavery? Nailing Jews to posts so that YOU can have someone clean your home? Where does it end? The same religious arguements you are making against gay marriage are the same as the ones used to deny interracial marriage. Is that next too, Freeholders?

Even if you hate homosexuals - you are denying a HUMAN BEING her rights. She paid into her pension, and she (and she alone) should decide who gets those benefits after her death. You call her “amoral” because of the way YOUR God created her and now you sit and judge His creation, it you who are amoral. Doesn’t your Bible state that “no man may know the will of God”?

You are a disgrace to New Jersey - there is a special spot in hell for men like you. And I hope you suffer the same fate you are consigning Ms. Hester and Ms. Andree to.

I know Wednesday you are voting again - if her request is not granted a second time I hope you all never see another term in New Jersey politics again. You self-centered, self-righteous, homophobic, racist, sexists jerks!

Sincerely -

Kellie R. Crouse
Once proud NJ resident.

They’ve fought the good fight and they have apparently lost.  Bigotry is the victor. But there’s no reason her partner should lose the $$$ as well. 

On the subect of this thread, there are many who hope that Ocean County comes to its senses and lets Laurl Hester pass on her pension to her long-term partner.  It is nothing short of scandalous that this particular county does not go along with the "spirit" of the law in New Jersey.  There is a distinct "smell" of political "corruption" wafting across the Atlantic to these shores.

She is on her last days, and I feel that she should be respected to her last breath. Laurel Hester and her partner and family and friends are in my thiughts and this has inspired me to continue to fight for what rights is deserve.

The freeholder’s public argument, at this time (it’s changed over the past three months) is that granting Lt. Hester’s dying wish, which they CAN do by passing a simple resolution, would also create this new benefit (pensions for domestic partners) for all Ocean county employees, while discriminiating against "straight" couples who cannot, under NJ law, domestically partner. (But they can marry … ) 

Bottom line is very simple — Ocean County is a very conservative, Republican dominated district, and the freeholders are loathe to vote in favor of a Democratic-driven bill passed by the state legislators in our capital of Trenton. By punting the issue back at the state, the freeholders make the state Dems the evildoers in the eyes of their constituents, and preserve their own integrity as Republicans.

The bad news for them is, they are already individually, collectively and publically being roasted in hell for not backing Hester. You could see it in their eyes. They HATE having to do this, but they see it as their only choice.

Well, bullocks. Ocean County is NJ’s summer playground, and the lbgti community is committed to shutting it down this summer. Not one pink greenback for Ocean. If these fools can’t sacrifice partisanship for compassion, MAYBE a short, sharp shock to the tx rolls will do the trick.

Please do feel free to communicate, politely if possible, your opprobrium towards the Board of Frozen Cheeseholders, as we have come to think of them.