Having faced stinging losses on Election Day, supporters of gay “marriage” in New York and New Jersey are looking to regain momentum and are racing to legalize such relationships by year’s end.
The clock is ticking.
In New York, Democratic Gov. David Paterson is pressuring the Democratic-controlled Senate to send him a bill by year’s end, before the calendar hits 2010 and legislators become less prone to pass a controversial bill in an election year.
In New Jersey — which just held an election — supporters of gay “marriage” are rushing to send outgoing Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine a bill before he leaves office Jan. 19.
Corzine says he would sign such a bill, while Gov.-elect Chris Christie, a Republican, has promised to veto it.
Unlike some other states, New Jersey and New York don’t allow citizen-driven initiatives, so if a law is passed, it likely will stand.
Paterson called New York’s Legislature into a special session Nov. 10 to address not only gay “marriage” but also the state’s deficit.
The Senate, though, adjourned without debating the marriage bill, which passed the Assembly in May.
Democratic leaders and Paterson did reach an agreement, though, whereby the Senate will give the bill a vote by year’s end.
The New Jersey bill is being pushed by Garden State Equality. Steven Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, gathered supporters the night after the election and told them, “We have about two and a half months to win marriage equality. It’s not over,” The Montclair Times reported.
Goldstein is pushing for a lame duck session to send Corzine the bill.
New Jersey already recognizes civil unions, which grant same-sex couples all the legal benefits of marriage minus the name. (BP)
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