Odds Against Gay Marriage Grow With Setback in Trenton
David Kocieniewski (Jan. 4, 2010)
With just two weeks before New Jersey changes governors, gay-rights advocates are facing lengthening odds — and they have been long for some time now — of winning approval of a law that would grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages in the state.
Supporters of gay marriage have been lobbying frantically to win legislative approval of a marriage equality bill before Jan. 19, when Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who has promised to enact it, is replaced by Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie, who opposes it.
But advocates of the bill were rebuffed on Monday, when the Judiciary Committee in the General Assembly met and did not take up the proposal. That setback, which comes two weeks after the measure stalled in the State Senate, means that the legislation has now become bogged down in both chambers.
Despite the growing odds against it, however, gay-rights advocates say they are still hopeful that they will win approval before the change of governors. At a rally on the State House steps Monday afternoon, more than 150 demonstrators voiced equal measures of frustration and resolve, saying that Democratic legislators who had pledged to pass the bill would be held accountable if they reneged on their promises.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/nyregion/05marriage.html