New Jersey State Senate To Take Up Marriage Equality Bill

01/05/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The New Jersey Senate is set to vote on marriage equality this upcoming Thursday. Should the pass it, than the House in the Assembly will take it up. Not only is there a question as to whether or not New Jersey will make the move from civil unions to full marriage equality, a move opposed by incoming Governor Chris Christie, but whether or not they will do it before New York does. State Senate President Richard Codey stated that “given the intensely personal nature of this issue, I think the people of this state deserve the right to a formal debate on the Senate floor.”

Many legislators have been unwilling to state whether or not they will vote for this bill, and there will probably be no idea how many will until the final vote is taken. There has been a certain amount of back and forth over which chamber would take up the bill first with the Senate and House trying to get the other to take the leap. With the Senate taking it up now, there is some hope that enough votes can be rounded up to pass the bill. The odds of New Jersey passing this law still remain long. If it does pass, New Jersey will join Vermont and New Hampshire in passing marriage equality through the legislature, and Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa in granting marriage rights to same-sex couples.