Staff Writer
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| New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize gay marriage |
New
Jersey became the fourteenth state to legalize gay marriage on October 21, marking
the end of a ten year movement for marriage rights in the Garden State. Republican
Governor Chris Christie had vetoed a gay marriage bill last year and was
attempting to make an appeal to the state Supreme Court to shoot down the bill
when he abruptly withdrew the appeal, clearing the way for full marriage rights
for gay couples across the state.
As
word spread, gay couples and other civil rights advocates celebrated at wedding
ceremonies and rallies around the state. At the same time, same-sex marriage
opponents warned Christie that conservatives across the country would remember
this act if he elects to run for president in 2016. Democratic Senate President
Stephen Sweeney said, “I was just happy that they dropped the challenge. This
is a day for same sex couples to actually rejoice, realizing that their unions
are real and they’re going to stay real.”
Hawaii
and New Mexico are both currently pushing for same-sex marriage rights in their
states as well. The state Supreme Court in New Mexico is presently listening to
arguments on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to wed, while Hawaii is
very close to creating a bill legalizing gay marriage, which would make it the
fifteenth state to do so.
