Great news from the New Jersey Senate, but a few more supporters are needed to override Governor Chris Christie’s promised veto:
New Jersey lawmakers gave their blessing to legalizing gay marriage for the first time Monday as the state Senate passed a bill that would allow nuptials for same-sex couples, despite Gov. Chris Christie’s insistence that he will veto such legislation.
The Senate’s 24-16 vote sends the bill to the Assembly, which is expected to pass it on Thursday.
Monday’s vote contrasts with the only other gay-marriage vote taken in the Legislature. In January 2010, gay marriage supporters thought they had built a narrow majority in the Senate, but senators began to defect, and the measure was defeated 20-14. Since then, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat from West Deptford, has changed his position. He says he regrets abstaining two years ago and has made gay marriage recognition a top priority.
Fantastic. Get it done.
[h/t Towleroad]
Make it a law that every governor who signs a gay marriage law gets a free visit to the buffet at the Sizzler AND a chocolate donate a day for a year.
New Jersey will have gay marriage within the hour.
I hope we get enough votes to override the PIG’s veto (Gov. Christie). He said he would go for a referendum and ‘let the voters decide’; of course we said no, because not only are these referenda outrageous, it’s a ploy to get the wingnuts to come out and vote republican on election day. Also, I believe it was only in the local NJ papers, but when this debate was going on a few weeks ago, governor PIG called an openly gay legislator (Reed Gusciora–whom I know personally) a ‘numb nuts’. As far as I know, this is an epithet that he has never used before for a political opponent. I didn’t make the connection, but one of my friends told me that this was a form of anti-gay bullying between adults and that it was a not so thinly disguised expression of the PIG’s homophobia. And kids get ‘the message’ when they hear this type of thing from adults toward lgbt people.
It is exactly a slur used to question someone’s masculinity. I had that epithet used on me a couple of times in the late 60′s in high school.
I thought there was no referenda option in NJ, same as NY, no? Wouldn’t it take a constitutional amendment to do that with a two thirds majority supporting it? Even if it had to go that way, I doubt if it would succeed. I think bigot coward Christie knows this. All he’s doing is playing politics, appeasing the religious bigots and conservative right wing including the tea party scum. He’s screwed either way by signing it or not signing it. The law will be efective in 45 days with or without. So in reality, NJ has won.
Hey, Gene, I suspect that Chris Christie will go for that big time! However, I think he’d prefer an eclair.
lol Gianni…perhaps…who does not love an eclair? ;) but, from what I have seen, ANY food will do.
Some time ago, there was a newly elected state rep from downstate who was last seen standing between Christie and the desert cart at a function, and he was reported to have carelessly spilled a lot of chocolate sauce on his collar…
…as I wrote…LAST seen standing between Christie and the desert cart. ;)
I mean…LOOK at the man. People in crashed planes in the Andes are less picky about what they will eat than Christie is.