Time is running out for Gay Marriage in New Jersey. With only a few days left before an Anti-Human Rights Conservative takes over as Governor.
NJ Governor Jon Corzine
Say what you want about Governor Jon Corzine, but he has his head screwed on right when it comes to LGBT rights. He’s promised to sign LGBT marriage into law if the New Jersey state senate passes the law before he leaves office on January 19th. Unfortunately, that vote was supposed to take place back in December. It’s been postponed and postponed by the extremist right who are bowing to pressure from the small handful of religious leaders in the state who are opposed to equal treatment.
Early in 2009, Corzine organized a bipartisan legislative/citizen panel to review the state’s current laws which allow for civil unions among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered residents to decide if equal protections were being provided. The panel came back with a unanimous vote saying, “No,” civil unions are not the equivelant of marriage. Since then, NJ Legislators have gained huge support in passing equal marriage into law.
But in the November election, Governor Corzine was ousted by Republican Chris Christie. Christie has promised to veto any bill allowing gay marriage that comes to his desk. This gave the remaining far-righters in the Senate the out they needed, all they have to do is delay the vote until Jan 19th and the problem will go away.
Governor-elect Chris Christie
A group of 150 religious leaders in the state sent a massive petition to the Legislature this past week, asking the Senate to vote for the bill now. But with time running out, the clock may be ticking down the last hope of equality in the state for the next several years.
No comments:
Post a Comment