NJ Codifies Gay Marriage to Protect it If A Trumpie Supreme Court Undoes It

Trump with newly nominated Justice who will follow Trump like he has on 

Abortion and election voting for the GOP side.

 

By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The right for gay couples to get married in New Jersey is now officially enshrined in state law.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday he signed a bill into law that codifies marriage equality in the state amid concerns the ability for gay couples to wed could be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Despite the progress we have made as a country, there is still much work to be done to protect the LGBTQ+ community from intolerance and injustice,” Murphy said in a statement.  

“New Jersey is stronger and fairer when every member of our LGBTQ+ family is valued and given equal protection under the law,” the Democratic governor added. “I am honored to sign legislation that represents our New Jersey values and codifies marriage equality into state law.”

From D.C. to Trenton to your town, the N.J. Politics newsletter brings the news right to your inbox. Sign up with your email here: Thomas Prol, a founding and current Garden State Equality executive committee member, said in a statement that “securing marriage equality in New Jersey for committed same-sex couples and their families has literally been a labor of love at Garden State Equality for nearly two decades.”

The Democratic-controlled Legislature in 2012 passed a billthat would allow same-sex marriage, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who argued voters should decide the issue in a referendum.

Then, the following year, New Jersey became the 14th state to allow gay couples to wed when the state Supreme Court declined to hear a lower court’s ruling that said banning same-sex marriage violated equal protection guaranteed under the state Constitution. Christie’s administration then dropped its legal challenge.

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the country two years later.

Democrats who lead the Legislature felt this new bill (A5367) was needed amid fear the right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that has given women across America access to abortion for decades. 

The bill had passed the state Senate 35-4 and the Assembly by a 53-10 with five abstentions.