Same-sex marriage was legalized on Thursday with legislation passed by the New Jersey Assembly
The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriages, setting the stage for an expected veto by Gov. Chris Christie.
The 42-33 vote sends the bill to Christie, who won’t take immediate action. The Republican governor who opposes gay marriage had promised “very swift action” if the bill passed both houses of the Legislature, but the Assembly isn’t required to send the bill to his desk until the close of business today. The Senate approved the bill Monday.
“Without question this is a historic day in the state of New Jersey,” Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said after the vote. She said she had never been more proud of the Democratic caucus for doing “what citizens sent us here to do: to deliberate, to use the legislative process to represent the interests of all New Jerseyans.”
Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, echoed the speaker’s sentiments.
“Today, the Legislature has brought us to the promised land,” said Goldstein. “We know the governor won’t let us enter, but we finally behold the view of our dreams and we will never turn back.”
Christie and most state Republican lawmakers want gay marriage put to a popular vote. Democrats saygay marriage is a civil right protected by the Constitution and not subject to referendum.
Six states and Washington, D.C. recognize gay marriages. Washington State’s new gay marriage law is scheduled to take effect in June.
However, 30 states have adopted constitutional amendments aimed at preventing gay marriage, most by defining marriage as a union between man and woman.
The affirmative vote in the Assembly after more than two hours of debate ended weeks of speculation over whether Democrats who control the chamber would muster the 41 votes needed for the measure to pass. Four of the Assembly’s 47 Democrats voted no, and a fifth was out of town and didn’t vote. No Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
The Senate passed the bill 24-16. In that chamber, two Republicans voted for the bill and two Democrats voted against it in what was otherwise a party-line vote.
Source: The Daily Journal