Once upon a time, it seemed all but certain that New Jersey’s legislature would legalize gay marriage. But last Thursday, the state senate voted against the measure, 20-14, in a last-ditch effort to pass the law before Gov-elect Chris Christie (R) takes office Jan. 19.
Now, the effort to enact gay marriage legislatively is dead, at least for the next four years.
So what happened? According to those involved, the effort was dead the second Christie won in November.
“It was all but a sure thing,” Steven Goldstein, the head of Garden State Equality and the leader of the push for gay marriage, told TPM. “We had very impressive support from Republicans until Chris Christie got elected. That was the turning point.”
Goldstein said Christie began lobbying Republican lawmakers as soon as the election was over. GOP sources tell the New Jersey Star-Ledger that Christie was afraid that, if the law was enacted, marriage opponents would begin a push to change the state constitution to define marriage as heterosexual. And he didn’t want that to be the first thing he dealt with as governor.
Christie’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Goldstein believes Democrats — who hold the majority in both houses — got nervous when they realized they would have to go it alone. Six Democrats voted no on the bill, and three abstained (including incoming Senate President Stephen Sweeney). If they had voted yes, the bill would have passed and been sent to the assembly.
None of those Democrats returned calls for comment.
But Goldstein and his opponents agree that marriage supporters had enough votes before November. So why didn’t the Dems pass it then?
Because Gov. Jon Corzine didn’t want gay marriage to be an issue when most voters were worrying about jobs and the economy. So, the Star-Ledger reports, he asked supporters to hold off until after the election.
That gave opponents time to organize, and the New Jersey Catholic Conference collected 156,000 signatures on a petition against gay marriage, had priests speak about the issue from the pulpit and held rallies.
As the legislature headed toward its final voting sessions under Corzine, it seemed increasingly apparent that the bill wouldn’t pass. The senate and assembly tossed the measure back and forth in a political game of hot potato. Supporters became increasingly desperate, reportedly picketing outside the homes of senators. Senate President Richard Codey even said, hours before the Senate vote, that he didn’t expect the measure to pass, but would post it for a vote anyway.
Now, marriage supporters — who say the state’s civil union law does not go far enough to give gay couples equal rights — have vowed to take the battle to court.
