...very compelling arguments made on both sides of this debate. I can tell you, I have to take my hat off to the dedicated lobbyists who are up in the gallery, the folks who've been in my law office on a regular basis, Steve Goldstein and his supporters who have done a fantastic job, passionate, enthusiastic advocates for this cause.

I take difference with some of my colleagues. I believe we are elected here to make decisions such as this in this body. We don't need to put it on the ballot. I believe that we are elected to make these tough decisions. That's what I believe we're going to be doing here this afternoon.

I can tell you in my brief tenure in the state Legislature, six or seven years now, which I've been very proud to serve in, this is the toughest issue. I have to tell you, the reason it's the toughest issue is not necessarily because it's going to impact on the most people the most, because I believe the gay population is probably a minority in some respects, and we talk about financial issues, we talk about educational issues, we talk about business issues, things that cut across the entire population and impact on people a great deal. This particular issue, though, impacts on a minority perhaps more than any other issue. It's a very important issue.

Governor Codey made a great observation when he talked about the gay community, and when gay people move into the community, do the property values go down and the neighborhood turns to garbage? Well, no. Just the opposite happens, in fact. You drive around my district in Monmouth County, places like Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, and you see the rainbow flags, just the opposite happens. The neighborhood is gentrified. They push the drug dealers out. Businesses thrive. Real estate values go up. The economy in general improves. Certainly society improves. And I can tell you, I've seen that first-hand.

Somebody told me today I have the gayest district in the state, the 11th Legislative district. The 25 towns in the 11th have a huge gay population. I know there's a gay population in Ocean Grove and Asbury Park and certainly in all the other towns in my district as well as the districts that all of you represent. But it doesn't matter where they reside; the fact of the matter is they deserve to have rights. They deserve to have things that the rest of us as Americans have.

They turn neighborhoods around, as I've said. They turn struggling neighborhoods into neighborhoods where people want to live. Neighborhoods that were previously places people didn't want to go, the gay community moves in and turns it around, and they share many of the same values that all of us share.

I also listened today ? in fact when I was sworn in to this house, I celebrated that evening with a ceremony at a restaurant in Ocean Grove. Friends of mine that are gay own the restaurant and I was very proud to have my reception there and my ceremony there.

However, I hear some words being thrown about here today. Words like "what are we afraid of?" Words like "prejudice." Words like "primary elections." Well, I take offense to those characterizations of people that may not agree with the proponents of this bill.

And people may ask me, "Well, Kean, why didn't you support this bill today?" Throughout this process, I have committed to the advocates of this bill and to the opponents of this bill ? by the way, in my legislative district I've seen it's about 50/50, by the way ? I've committed to those individuals that I would keep an open mind throughout this whole process and I have done that.

I wish this was an issue where I could have just awakened one morning and said, "You know what, I know what I'm going to do. I'm either for it or I'm against it." And that wasn't the case. This issue is that important and that difficult that I kept an open mind throughout this entire process, right up to the end. But guess what, folks, and guess what, to those proponents of this bill, that I am unfortunately going to disagree with you here today. Sometimes people just disagree with you. Maybe they don't share your perspective. Maybe they don't share your values. Maybe they just disagree with you.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe in disagreeing with you, in some future legislature, people will be able to come back and point out to my mistake, and my value judgements and my decisions were wrong. But I can tell you at the end of the day, I think I speak for everybody, when you lay down at night and go to sleep you do a heart check. And that's really where you get the courage to make decisions like the decision we're going to make here today.

So what do I base my decision on? Some people characterized some of us who are opponents of this bill as just like blind sheep following some kind of a religious doctrine. I take offense to that too. But is religion a part of that decision-making process? Of course. Religion is a part of that. Spirituality is part of that. Life experience, education, culture, family ? all of those things come into those decision-making processes.

And so for you, on the other side of this debate, to characterize those that aren't supporting this bill as being afraid of political primaries, or prejudiced, or being afraid of being wrong, that's just unacceptable to me. I think it denigrates those that are on the other side of this debate.

I'm going to be voting no. Thank you, Mr. President.