In the face of growing anxiety over the Supreme Court’s conservative tilt, state lawmakers in New Jersey are moving quickly to pass marriage equality legislation.
The New Jersey Assembly’s Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a marriage equality bill on December 9 and the measure is expected to clear both houses of the State Legislature by the end of the year, according to Garden State Equality, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group.
New Jersey established equal marriage rights through a 2013 state Superior Court ruling after Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, had previously vetoed a marriage equality bill. Following that court decision, an effort to codify marriage equality was unsuccessful because of criticism over religious exemptions in the legislation.
