New Jersey Democrats Fast Track Marriage Equality

Democratic leaders in the New Jersey legislature said Monday that they planned to introduce marriage equality legislation this week and would make the push in the Senate and Assembly their top priority. The announcement appeared to position the legislature for a showdown with Gov. Chris Christie, who has promised to veto any such measure, and the dynamics of their confrontation could signal a louder national conversation around marriage equality during a presidential election year.

The leaders announced their intentions at an afternoon news conference in Trenton, where the new legislative session will begin tomorrow. The bill, known as the "Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act," will be introduced Tuesday with the symbolic designation of S-1 to indicate its status as the first order of business. Senate president Steve Sweeney, Majority Leader-Elect Loretta Weinberg, and Sen. Raymond Lesniak will serve as prime sponsors.

The support from Senator Sweeney marks a significant new advantage for the legislation, according to advocates. He declined to vote on the measure in 2010 when it failed by a 20-14, and has since called his abstention the biggest regret of his political career. Then governor Jon Corzine had promised to sign the bill if it reached his desk.

"This is about doing what's right and ensuring full equal and civil rights for all New Jerseyans," said Sweeney. "Two years ago, I made a mistake in abstaining on marriage equality -- a mistake that means same-sex couples continue to be denied the very basic civil right to live their lives as they wish. But today isn't about me correcting my mistake, it's about correcting a mistake for thousands of loving couples across the state who want nothing more than to be treated equally as their neighbors."

A statement from Sweeney's office said that he anticipated bipartisan support for the legislation. He plans to direct the judiciary committee to put the bill on an expedited hearing schedule so the full Senate can take up the measure as soon as possible.

Leaders also plan to fast-track the measure in the Assembly, where the bill will be known as A-1. Assembly speaker Sheila Oliver, the first African-American woman to lead that chamber, pledged to move the bill in a statement that compared the lack of equal marriage recognition to racial segregation.

"This is the same wrong message we heard from segregation laws," she said. "Separate treatment was wrong then. And separate treatment is wrong now. That's why I am committed this session to posting marriage equality legislation and making its passage a priority as soon as possible."

If sponsors succeed in passing the bill this session, they face the prospect of a veto by Governor Christie, a popular Republican with a national profile. It is unclear whether the legislature would be able to muster the two-thirds majority required to override his veto.

Christie, who will deliver his annual State of the State address Tuesday, has not yet committed on the legislation, but Senator Sweeney expressed hope that the first-time executive would refrain from vetoing any measure that reaches his desk.

"If the governor cannot raise himself by signing a law to ensure a basic civil right for all residents, we would hope that he would not lower himself by vetoing it," said Sweeney.

Assembly member Reed Gusciora, the first openly gay member of the legislature, who will carry the bill in his chamber, spoke bluntly to national politics in his statement. Governor Christie has been traveling to early-voting states on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who supports a federal constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages.

"In recent months, Governor Christie has been to four out of the six states that recognize same-sex marriages: Iowa, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts," said Gusciora. "Moreover, when he visits Washington DC he is in a city that also recognizes such relationships. And in none of these places, has he seen any diminishment of the institution of marriage other than perhaps when he is in the presence of Newt Gingrich."

Depending on when the bill passes and whether or not a potential veto can be overcome, New Jersey, with its population of 9 million, could become the seventh state in the nation to enact marriage equality, following its neighbor New York. Last week Washington governor Chris Gregoire announced her intention to prioritize marriage equality legislation this session, and Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland has also promised to push for a bill this year.

Recent polls show that a majority of New Jersey residents support marriage equality, including a majority of Roman Catholics, who make up a significant part of the state's population. The marriage equality law would exempt clergy members and other religious leaders who from performing same-sex marriages, mirroring a provision in the marriage equality law enacted in New York last year, according to Sweeney's office.

Democratic lawmakers were joined at their announcement by advocates including members of Garden State Equality, the statewide LGBT lobbying group. They thanked national groups including Freedom To Marry and the Human Rights Campaign for their support.

"The days are over when marriage equality was the third rail of American politics," said Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein in a statement. "Today, in a state and nation that supports marriage equality, not standing up for equality is the third rail for prejudice."

Freedom to Marry national campaign director Marc Solomon said in a statement, "Freedom to Marry is proud to partner with Garden State Equality and New Jersey's tremendous legislative leaders, Senate President Sweeney and House Speaker Oliver, as we work together to make New Jersey the next state to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage. What New Jersey's legislative leaders are telling us clearly today is that the Garden State values its gay and lesbian citizens fully, and does not accept treating same-sex couples and their families as second class citizens, as it presently does with civil unions. Marriage matters for same-sex couples and their families, both because it says we're a family through thick and thin in a way that nothing else does, and because it provides a critical safety-net of protections that civil unions do not."

Michael Cole-Schwartz, HRC director of communications, said in a statement, "New Jersey's legislative leadership took a bold step forward today by making marriage equality a top priority in the new legislative session. We strongly support this legislation and look forward to working with state leaders like Garden State Equality so that couples in New Jersey can soon have the ability to form loving and committed families."

In addition, all nine members of the New Jersey Democratic congressional delegation expressed support. U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and seven House members signed a letter dated January 6 urging their colleagues in the state legislature to pass the bill. The signers represent 60% of the 15-member delegation.

"New Jersey has a proud history of civil rights leadership, and we must continue our role in pursuing fairness and equality," stated the letter. "Other states with a combined population of more than 35 million already have marriage equality - including our next door neighbor, New York."

New Jersey currently has a civil unions law passed in 2006 in response to a decision from the state's high court. A state commission in 2008 found the law to be inadequate in providing equal protections for same-sex couples, something the Democratic congressional members also noted in their letter.

"It is important to note that New Jersey enacted the strongest possible civil union law in 2006," stated the letter. "Therefore, it is not feasible to 'fix' the law short of providing marriage equality. The time has come to end discrimination in marriage. The marriage equality bill in the New Jersey legislature needs your support."

The antigay National Organization for Marriage, which is based in Princeton, New Jersey, criticized the announcing by trying to discredit a 2008 Williams Institute study that estimated a marriage equality law could bring $500 million to the state within three years of being enacted. NOM cultural director Thomas Peters wrote a blog post Tuesday that called the economic benefits argument a "dying meme."

"Meanwhile, the arguments proposed by Rick Santorum and other GOP presidential candidates on the campaign trail that healthy families and an intact marriage culture will result in less government spending and more economic output continues to gain traction -- and, most importantly -- a growing listening audience, especially as the harmful economic consequences of a weakened marriage culture become more apparent all around us," he wrote.