N.J. Senate Committee Advances Gay Marriage Bill

January 24, 2012

By: MaryAnn Spoto TRENTON — After three hours of impassioned arguments on both sides, a Senate committee today advanced a bill allowing same-sex marriage in New Jersey. The 8-4 vote along party lines is the first significant development in gay rights since December 2006, when the state enacted civil unions that gay rights activists have said fail to give same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Arguments in favor of gay marriage ranged from personal stories of discrimination to legal accounts of how the civil union law is flawed. Opponents' arguments included claims a change would diminish the meaning of marriage and quotes from the Bible condemning homosexuality and its supporters. Republican Sens. Christopher Bateman, Michael Doherty, Kevin O'Toole and Joseph Kyrillos who opposed the measure, said they like Gov. Chris Christie's suggestion to put the issue to referendum. "There's nothing wrong with letting the voters weigh in on the issue," Bateman said.