NJ Assembly Passed Gay Marriage, NJ Governor To Veto It

This week, the New Jersey state legislature made history as both houses passed a bill guaranteeing marriage equality to its LGBT citizens.  It was a remarkable turnaround in a state where a similar measure went down in defeat just two years ago.  It's also a great example of how far the movement for marriage equality has come in that time...and how far it still has to go.

The big bummer in this news is that the state's Republican "governor" Chris Christie has stated unequivocally that he will veto the bill.  He has advised the good assembly men and women of his state to take the issue to the voters and that "the people" should decide such a hot button issue.  Of course, he neglects to mention that the real reason for his actions is that he basically doesn't want this law to happen on his watch as he looks ahead to a likely presidential run in 2016.

In the last couple of weeks, Republicans in both New Jersey and Washington state have shown support for marriage equality, stating that ultimately this issue is one of civil rights.  NJ Republican state senator Jennifer Beck put it quite eloquently when she voted in favor of the bill: "Our republic was established to guarantee the liberty of all people. It is our role as elected representative to protect all of the people that live in our state." So I urge you to drop Mr. Christie a line and remind him about his duty as an elected representative of "the people", as he seems to have forgotten this as he considers his political future.