Could Gay Marriage Come to N.J. in 2012?

New Jersey is one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage as Democrats plan to propose a new bill in the next legislative session, NJ.com reported in a Jan. 8 article.

Since 2003, the state has offered civil unions to same-sex couples.

The website says that the legislation will "move through both houses, according to three sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the plan."

Senate President Stephen Sweeny (D) has also fully endorsed the bill after not voting when a similar bill was presented to the Legislature two years ago. Sweeny says it was the biggest mistake of his career.

Sweeny also claims that he used to view same-sex marriage as a religious issue, and as a Catholic, opposed it. Now, however, he says he was wrong and strongly regrets being absent from the last vote as he now sees the issue as a civil rights matter, N.J.com reported in a Jan. 10 article.

Sweeny claims that he is confident that the bill will make it through the Legislature this time around but is worried about Gov. Chris Christie (R) who has opposed gay marriage in the past.

"It's going be a fight," Sweeney said. "We expect it to be a fight. The governor's a decent person, and I think we can work on educating him to the fact of what it means."

If Christie vetoes the bill, Democrats will need a two-thirds vote to cancel out the veto, which is unlikely, although Sweeny and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D), say that they will work to get the required number of votes.

Other politicians are still optimistic as well. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D), New Jersey's only openly gay legislator, says that it is possible the governor won't veto the bill.

"He has already stated that gay couples should be afforded the same dignity and equal respect under the laws," Gusciora said at a press conference.

Christie may not be the only obstacle that propionates of the bill face.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), an anti-gay group that tries to influence elections and campaigns around the U.S., is bent on stopping the legislation, the Human Rights Campaign reported in an Jan. 10 posting.

NOM says that it will give up to $500,000 in order to back legislatures who oppose the bill.

"The media is reporting that gay marriage is sure to pass through the Legislature, but we heard the same false story in 2009 and 2010. The people of New Jersey can and will stop this bill," said NOM President Brian Brown.

Last week, Washington state also proposed a bill that would legalize gay marriage, which has full support from Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), EDGE reported in a Jan. 4 article.

Similar to Sweeny, Gregorie struggled with the issue based on religious reasons but says "It is not okay for the state to discriminate."

When she ran for governor in 2004, she said the state was not ready to legalize same-sex marriage but now says, "It is time, it is the right thing to do, and I will introduce the bill to make it happen."

New Jersey is in an especial situation. Much of the state sits in the shadow of its far larger neighbor, New York State. Many residents of the northern part of the state work in New York City. New York approved gay marriage last year.

The state also has a unique legacy in that it had the first out-gay governor in the nation, albeit through an accident of a political scandal. When Jim McGreevey (D) came out earlier this century, it gave a heightened visibility to the state's LGBT community. The state also has a very active gay-rights group, Garden State Equality that has increasingly flexed its muscles in recent years as the state's voters veer increasingly strongly toward full marriage equality. It looks as though their paid representatives have gotten the message as well, if not the state's chief executive.