Politics & Government

Democrats Line Up the Votes to Pass Gay Marriage Bill

But simple majorities in both houses will not be able to override a Christie veto.

New Jersey’s Democratic legislative leaders declared the and named it their top priority in the new session that begins today, setting the contentious issue up for a veto showdown with Gov. Chris Christie.

Although the last attempt to legalize gay marriage in the state ended losing in the Senate by a 14-20 vote, this time Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), said he has at least the 21 votes needed to pass the bill in the upper house. Unlike the December 2009 vote, when he abstained, Sweeney will be among those supporting the effort.

Still, during a Trenton press conference at which Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), and more than a dozen other Democrats vowed to pass legislation enabling gays to marry, Sweeney sidestepped questions about whether he had enough votes to override an expected Christie veto. 

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Even if Democrats in both houses have simple majorities, as Sweeney and Oliver state, it will be hard to muster the necessary 27 votes in the Senate and 54 in the Assembly to override, when the Democrats have just 24 votes in the Senate and 48 in the Assembly.

“We’ll work to do what we have to do … We’re going to work toward an override if necessary,” said Sweeney, adding he wants the full Senate to vote on the measure by mid-year. “We have many more Democratic votes.”

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In 2009, the only Republican to vote for the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act, as it was called, was Sen. Bill Baroni (Hamilton). He has since left the legislature to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. John Girgenti (Passaic), Fred Madden (Gloucester), Nicholas Sacco (Hudson), Ronald Rice (Essex), Shirley Turner (Mercer), and Jeff Van Drew (Cape May) all voted against the bill. Like Sweeney, James Beach (Camden) and Paul Sarlo (Bergen) did not vote. Only Girgenti is no longer in the Senate.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and a cosponsor of the bill that the Senate voted down in 2009, made a point of saying yesterday that Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) supports the bill, although she did not attend the hearing. Beck voted against it two years ago, but has subsequently said publicly that she has changed her mind and will support it.

“I don’t give up on issues very easily,” said Weinberg, who will again cosponsor the same-sex marriage bill and also cosponsored the state’s current civil union law, enacted in December 2009. “This is, I think, a very bright moment in history for the state of New Jersey and indeed for civil rights in the state of New Jersey.

Sweeney agreed, saying the same-sex marriage bill will be numbered S1 in the upper house -- Oliver is making it A1 in the Assembly -- because it is a civil rights measure and as such is important enough to receive the coveted designation of number 1.

“Hopefully by doing the right thing here, this will continue to move nationally,” Sweeney said.

Oliver likened the fight for same-sex marriage to the difficulties biracial couples faced when they sought to marry 50 years ago.

“Civil unions send a message to the public that same-sex couples and their families are not equal to married couples in the eyes of the law,” Oliver said. “It sends a message that same-sex couples are not good enough to warrant equality. This is the same wrong message we heard from segregation laws. Separate treatment was wrong then. And separate treatment is wrong now.”

Continue reading this story in NJ Spotlight.

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