New Jersey
governor won't fight same-sex marriage

New Jersey governor Jon Corzine won't try to ban same-sex marriage if the New Jersey supreme court finds that it's constitutional, a spokesman said. A ruling is expected by October 25 in a lawsuit filed by seven gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses in the state.

Opponents of same-sex marriage held a rally at the statehouse on Thursday, calling on the court to uphold marriage as a union between a man and a woman. According to a report in the Asbury Park Press, nearly 200 protesters, including clergy and conservative groups, sang, prayed, and pleaded with the state supreme court and the legislature to not allow same-sex marriage in New Jersey.

In front of a white banner showing outlines of a man, a woman, and a child, the activists said same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue and that children would suffer if gays were allowed to marry. But Steven Goldstein, chairman of gay-rights group Garden State Equality, challenged the idea that the fight for same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue. "There are 1,138 rights given to straight married couples, and gay couples get none of them. If that doesn't make marriage equality for gay couples a civil rights issue, I don't know what does," Goldstein told the paper. (AP contributed to this report)