Gov. Christie Vetoes Same-Sex Marriage Bill

NJ Gov. Chris Christie, courtesy of NYTimes.com

While marriage equality supporters have had recent victories in California and Washington, recent news from New Jersey is not as optimistic. On Monday the New Jersey state senate approved a bill which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state, and on Thursday this bill was approved by the state assembly. Today, however, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the bill as promised, saying that "an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide." New Jersey lawmakers have until January 2014 to override the veto.

Lambda Legal brings same-sex marriage back to court in New Jersey

N.J. gay-marriage battle back in court

A sampling of posts from the last week:

Advocates for same-sex marriage are taking their case back to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Lambda Legal filed a motion Thursday seeking a court ruling to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

"We are here today to ask the New Jersey Supreme Court to make equality real," said Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal's deputy legal director. The civil-rights group filed a motion on behalf of six same-sex couples who first brought a lawsuit in 2002 seeking the right to marry.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples. The decision, however, left it up to the Legislature to decide how to provide equal rights. Lawmakers chose civil unions, but gay and lesbian advocates argue that civil unions provide unequal benefits, are misunderstood, especially out of the state, and amount to a separate and unequal right.

-Jonathan Tamari