A bill that would have granted same-sex couples the right to marry has been voted down by the New Jersey State Senate. Just over a month after New York State Senate rejected a similar piece of legislation, Garden State pols following suit, voting 20-14 against it. Gay marriage advocates had been trying to push the bill through before Gov. Jon Corzine, who supports gay marriage, leaves office on Jan. 19 and is replaced by Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who opposes it.
Though statewide polls showed New Jersey residents split on the issue, insiders have said the bill was in trouble in Trenton. Opponents said they voted against it for religious reasons and because New Jersey already has a domestic partnership law and allows civil unions. "Suddenly today, there's implications that you're discriminating against folks when you want to maintain that definition," said Republican State Sen. Michael Doherty, according to the website Queerty. "This is about letting the residents of New Jersey decide a major re-definition that has been recognized for thousands and thousands of years."
But supporters say same sex couples with civil unions still face problems with pension benefits and hospital visits. Gay rights activists have said they will file suit against the Legislature for not living up to a state Supreme Court mandate that promised those with civil unions would receive all the rights and benefits as those who are married.
