New Jersey Marriage Equality Vote Set For Dec 10

Following on the devastating defeat of a marriage equality bill by a vote of 24-38 in neighboring New York thanks to the defection of feckless Democrats and duplicitous Republicans, New Jersey State Senators will get their chance to weigh in on the rights of same-sex couples to have equal access to civil marriage on Tuesday December 7th during a Judiciary Committee hearing and floor vote on Thursday December 10th.

"On Thursday (Dec. 10) the full Senate is going to vote on marriage equality," said [State Senator Raymond J. ] Lesniak [D-Union], a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And God be willing, we'll have 21 votes."

Democratic officials previously said they would not put the legislation to a vote unless they had the support needed to pass it.

After hearing for months that the head of the local LGBT political group, the openly gay member of the State Senate and the Governor of the State were all confident that the measure would pass in New York, I really have no idea what will happen next week. I do think it is important to have these votes; it is important for politicians to be put on the public record for where they stand relative to their private commitments to the LGBT community.