Marriage Equality Is Spreading To The Last Third Of The Tri-State Area. But Will Gov. Christie Sign The Bill?
Now that same-sex marriage has been legalized in Connecticut and New York, New Jersey legislators are going to take a second crack at getting the measure passed.
According to The Star-Ledger, Democrats will be holding a news conference today to announce that a marriage-equality bill will be their priority of the year. It may even be the first bill they put up to a vote.
Back in 2010, their efforts were quashed by an abstention from influential Democrat Steve Sweeney, resulting in a 20-14 defeat.
Nowadays, Senate President Sweeney is less worried about ticking off Republican voters, mostly because New York state overcame a similar problem last year. The NJ legislature expects him to champion the measure.
Garden State Equality president Steve Goldstein says that change is key. “You might call it the Andrew Cuomotization of legislators in New Jersey,” he told the Star-Ledger. “Andrew Cuomo has set the stage for the legislature in New Jersey and in other states, by championing the cause or marriage equality, not begrudgingly but with gusto.”
The bill should pass the Democrat-controlled House and Senate easily, but once it’s sent to Republican governor Chris Christie, it’s unlikely to get his signature. If he vetoes the measure, the Democrats don’t have the two-thirds majority to still pass the bill.
Openly gay NJ Assemblyman Reed Gusciora still has hope that Christie might not veto the bill.
“Interestingly, the governor has been in three gay marriage states— Iowa, Massachusetts and New Hampshire—with Mitt Romney,” Gusciora said. “Deep down, I think he thinks this is the right thing to do.”
@QJ201: Let’s hope so.
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@Hyhybt: It would be the Governor’s way of saying he doesn’t support a bill without saying that he is openly opposed to it. A veto, even if it can’t be overridden, is a politically dicey move with a split legislature (dem-controlled house and senate, repub-held governorship). If the democratic leadership has come out and said this is their top priority, a veto of it would put the governor’s own legislative priorities in jeopardy of failing.
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@MikeE: This is a representative democracy, otherwise known as a republic.
Besides, do you *really* want to argue that vetoes should not be allowed? Consider that New Hampshire is in approximately the opposite position right now, where a veto (combined with a few defectors) is pretty much the only way of *keeping* marriage.
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Wonderful news. If this passes the Democratic state legislature, it is still a big step forward regardless of whether Republican governor Christie vetoes it. There is always a slim possibility that he would sign it or that the legislature could override the veto.
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There really isn’t any way for Christie to win this. If he veto’s the bill, the left comes out of the woodwork for the election, and the Republicans lose just about every race. If he signs it, they still lose this election, but not by as much of a margin, and then he looses his own reelection in two years time.
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@Steve: He may just let it pass without his signature. In the Federal government, once Congress passes a bill the President has 10 days to sign it or veto it. If he does neither, then unless the legislative session has already ended, the bill becomes law. New Jersey works in a similar way, though I think they have a longer deadline.
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Not holding my breath for Christie to do the right thing, but here’s hoping a GOP governor can restore my faith that not all of them are either bigots, or willing to support bigotry to get elected.