New Jersey lawmakers to vote on same-sex marriage

TRENTON - A day after the New York legislature killed a bill to allow same-sex marriage, New Jersey's version of the legislation appeared very much alive.

State lawmakers announced yesterday that the New Jersey bill, known as the Marriage Equality Act, will be posted for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. It would be the first time a committee in either house of the Legislature has voted on the bill.

Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) said yesterday that if the bill was released by the committee, he would post it for a vote by the Senate on Thursday.

Same-sex marriage advocates say the defeat in neighboring New York state Wednesday does not worry them.

"This is not the New York legislature," Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D. Union) declared to a large crowd of same-sex marriage advocates who gathered in front of the Statehouse shortly before noon yesterday. "The New York legislature is dysfunctional. We're better than that. We're New Jersey."

Proponents of the bill are urgently pushing for its passage in the next few weeks. While Gov. Corzine has said he will sign it if it reaches his desk, Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie, who takes office Jan. 19, has said he would veto it, which means the issue would most likely be a nonstarter at least until Christie leaves office.

Yesterday, Christie reiterated his position on same-sex marriage.

"I oppose it," Christie said at a news conference. "I think it's a bad idea."

He added, however, that he does not currently have a vote in the matter.

Previously, Codey and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) had said they would not post the bill unless assured of its passage. But it remained unclear yesterday whether the bill had the votes to pass in either house.

"God willing, we'll have 21 votes in favor," Lesniak said.

Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, which opposes same-sex marriage, said his group and others were "working very hard to ensure that this bill is defeated and that at least for now, marriage will be protected in New Jersey."

"I think the momentum is definitely starting to work in our favor, but one never knows until the vote is taken," Deo added. "We're not taking anything for granted."

The issue has heated up in recent weeks as activists on both sides of the issue have stepped up their efforts in New Jersey.

"Two weeks ago, I would have told you this issue is dead, but the advocates of same-sex marriage have been mobilizing and have been putting people in the hallways in the Legislature and ringing phones and calling their legislator," said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute at Rider University.

Dworkin said the defeat of same-sex marriage in New York might help the cause in New Jersey, by motivating activists.

On Tuesday, more than 200 Democrats sent a letter to state lawmakers urging them to approve the same-sex marriage bill. Many legislators have not said how they will vote.

Tuesday night, the Republican State Committee adopted a resolution calling for residents to be allowed to vote on the definition of marriage.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, the state lobby for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, said he believes many lawmakers in New Jersey support the bill in private but are skittish about voting in favor of it for political reasons.

But Goldstein said he also believes New Jersey is more progressive than New York and others that have rejected same-sex marriage.

"This is a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party," Goldstein said.

Sen. Paul Sarlo, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said that he would vote against the Marriage Equality Act but that he wanted to keep a promise that he would post it for a vote in the committee despite his personal opposition. Committee chairmen can stall bills simply by refusing to post them for votes.

The bill has not been voted on at the committee level in the Assembly. Some believe Assembly members are waiting for the Senate to vote before taking action.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D., Mercer), a sponsor of the bill, told the Trenton crowd to ask lawmakers to "stand up with us."

"Be a profile in courage," Gusciora said. "Do the right thing."

New Jersey allows civil unions, but advocates of same-sex marriage say civil unions are imperfect and inadequate.

In New York, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the Assembly but failed in the Senate by a wider margin than expected. Gov. David Paterson supported the bill.

Last month, voters in Maine turned down a measure to allow same-sex marriage, as did voters in California last year.

Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Vermont currently allow same-sex marriage. It will become legal in New Hampshire Jan. 1.

Typically considered a progressive state, New Jersey has enacted 210 civil rights laws to protect members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, according to Garden State Equality.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Nov. 25 found that by a slim margin, 49-46, New Jersey voters opposed a law that would allow same-sex couples to marry.

"When we asked about gay marriage in April, it won narrow approval," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Now that it seems closer to a legislative vote, it loses narrowly with the public."