The New Jersey state Senate moments ago passed a same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 24-16. Just eleven days ago, the Assembly’s Judiciary committee passed a same-sex marriage bill which is expected to receive a vote in the House this week, possibly Thursday, also. Like today’s Senate vote, the Assembly is expected to pass the bill. New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie has made it clear he will veto the bill, and it’s unclear but doubtful the bill has enough votes to override a Christie veto. 27 votes in the Senate would be required.
The Huffington Post adds:
Christie said he wants to put a change in the definition of marriage to a public vote.
But gay rights groups oppose a referendum. They see gay marriage as a civil rights matter and argue that it should not be up to the masses to protect the rights of a minority group. They also believe that a nasty campaign from social conservatives could erode the narrow majority of support that public polls show gay marriage has in New Jersey.
Gay rights groups are looking at two other avenues to make gay marriage reality in New Jersey. If Christie vetoes the measure, the Legislature would have until January 2014 to override it by getting two-thirds of the votes in each chamber. Advocates hope that with nearly two years, they can change enough votes to get the legislation adopted.
The other route is through the courts. Five years ago, New Jersey’s state Supreme Court ruled that gay couples should have the same rights as married heterosexual couples. In response, the Legislature created civil unions.
Gay rights advocates say that because the designation is hard to understand and still treats committed gays differently from married couples, the courts should eliminate civil unions and recognize gay marriage. A lawsuit seeking to do that is in the state court system.
Developing: stay tuned.
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