Tag: New Jersey

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New Jersey: Possible marriage equality override vote being planned

New Jersey’s legislature is planning votes in both the Senate and Assembly to override Chris Christie’s February 2012 veto of a marriage equality bill that passed both houses there:

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, an openly gay lawmaker who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, said he met with both Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and both men were committed to putting the bill up for an override. The bill did not pass in either house with enough votes to override the governor’s action, but gay rights advocates have been working the phones for a year trying to turn lawmakers in their favor.

The bill passed 24-16 in the Senate and 42-33 in the Assembly. In the Senate, three additional votes are needed to pass an override, while in the Assembly an additional 12 are needed for the two-thirds majority required to override.

“I think we can get the three in the Senate,” he said. “But the Assembly is a different story. I can name five who might switch their vote, but it stops there.”

Sweeney says he would like the override vote to happen after the June primaries so that Republicans would feel safer from retribution from ultra-conservative voters.

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NJ: Sen. Lautenberg will not seek reelection

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced today that he will not seek reelection in 2014. Lautenberg, 89, is the oldest member and the last World War II veteran in the Senate.

Upon the news of Lautenberg’s retirement, the senator won praise from both sides of the aisle. President Obama called Lautenberg a “steadfast champion” for New Jersey. “Throughout his time in the Senate, Frank has fought tirelessly for workers, veterans, members of our military and their families, and immigrants, and he continues to make extraordinary contributions to our nation’s safety,” he said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, said he always respected the senator for “his tenacity, devotion to the people of New Jersey and his love and commitment to public service.” Booker called Lautenberg a “champion” for Garden State residents.

Lautenberg’s retirement makes an open path for Newark Mayor Cory Booker to run for the open seat, who announced his interest in the seat last month.

The Human Rights Campaign reacts.

“For well over a decade, Senator Lautenberg has received a 100% rating on the HRC Scorecard, which scores members of congress on their positions on LGBT-related legislation. Following the tragic death of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, Sen. Lautenberg introduced the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act to help combat harassment and cyberbullying on college campuses.”

(via JMG)

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Freedom To Marry announces $2 million in support for marriage equality in 6 states

According to Buzzfeed, Freedom to Marry has just announced they plan to spend $2 million in 2013 to advance marriage equality efforts around the country:

According to a statement provided to BuzzFeed, Freedom to Marry is starting the 2013 effort — called the Win More States Fund — by investing $800,000 in the six states where marriage bills are being debated: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

“Building on our 4 for 4 ballot victories in November, Freedom to Marry is calling on supporters to join us in continuing the momentum and winning still more states in 2013.

“With the clock ticking on the Supreme Court’s review of marriage cases, we want to make as much progress as we can – and with battles already underway now in state capitals, we all need to put our money where our momentum is,” Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said in a statement.

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New Jersey: Marriage equality ballot measure introduced

Yesterday openly gay New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora introduced a bill to place marriage equality before the voters.

Gusciora said he has been opposed to putting a civil rights question like marriage equality up to a popular vote. But the Assemblyman — New Jersey’s first openly gay legislator — said his constituents asked him to change his mind in light of last month’s election results. “I am the last person who believes civil rights should be on the ballot, but civil rights delayed is civil rights denied,” Gusciora said. “The timing is right. There is broader acceptance.” Modeled after the Maine ballot question, the bill, (A3611) would need support in both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie’s signature to become law. The measure would then be added to the following election-year ballot. Gusciora said he expects the governor would sign his bill. Christie does not personally support gay marriage but has said he would sign a bill giving voters the right to decide the issue. “This is exactly what the Governor wants,” he added.

Said Christie in January: “Let’s put the question of same sex marriage on the ballot. It shouldn’t be decided by 121 people in Trenton.”

In November, NJ Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg disagreed with a ballot strategy, saying: I still don’t believe we should put civil rights onto a referendum.”

Polls have shown that voters both support same-sex marriage, and would like to vote on it.

(via JMG)

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New Jersey: President Obama tours devastation with Gov. Christie

From MSNBC: President Obama joined Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday to tour the devastation of Hurricane Sandy that annihilated the New Jersey coastline. The image that emerged was one of bipartisan leadership for both politicians—all in the crucial days before the election.

New Jersey bared much of the brunt of the storm’s wrath, leaving an estimated 2.4 million without power.

The president’s photo-op moment with the Republican governor who headlined the party’s convention this year, comes with just under a week until Election Day. Christie, an ardent critic of Obama and supporter of Mitt Romney, said during the convention that the president was the “most ill-prepared person to assume the presidency in my lifetime.”

Christie, however, exchanged his criticisms for acclaim of the president’s leadership in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Known as a brazen and candid politician, the New Jersey governor lauded Obama with praises saying he had to “give the president great credit.”

“He’s been very attentive, and anything that I’ve asked for, he’s gotten to me. So, I thank the president publicly for that. He’s done—as far as I’m concerned—a great job for New Jersey,” Christie said on Morning Joe Tuesday.

As for a Garden State visit from Romney, the current leader of Christie’s party and the man he’s been on the stump with for months, Christie said he is not the “least bit concerned or interested.”

Romney is now campaigning in Florida after holding political event in Ohio disguised as a “storm relief rally.” Since the storm, Romney has avoided any questions pertaining to his stance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency he once vowed to level.

Wednesday marks the third day in Obama’s pause from campaigning in what has been called his “commander-in-chief moment,” showing off his leadership in an empathetic light. A similar photo-op for George W. Bush provided the former president a boost to his 2004 re-election efforts with an image of Bush’s consoling bear hug for the grieving young girl whose mother was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that was brandished in voters’ minds.

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NJ Gov. Christie: “The President has done a great job”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared the devastation from Superstorm Sandy in his state to be a “major disaster” and “devastation,” but he also stated that working with President Obama on securing resources for the state has been “great.”

“The president has been all over this, and he deserves great credit,” Christie said. “He gave me his number at the White House and told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it. It’s been very good working with the president and his administration. It’s been wonderful.”

President Obama and the governor spoke three times on Monday, Christie stated.

“He asked me what I needed. I said if he could expedite the Major Disaster Declaration without all the normal FEMA mumbo-jumbo. He got right on it,” added Christie. “I got a call from FEMA at 2 a.m…and then this morning I understand he signed the Major Disaster Declaration for New Jersey.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie praises President Obama for his response to Hurricane Sandy at the 6:00 mark.

Note, however, the response the Governor gives to the Fox team when they ask about Mitt Romney at the 2:10 mark. Not a good moment for Fox.

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New Jersey: Marriage equality could pump $119 million into economy

A new study from the Williams Institute finds that New Jersey could generate as much as $119 million in just the first three years of marriage equality, including as much as $8 million in pure tax revenue.

By vetoing the legislation, Gov. Chris Christie (R) deprived his entire state of that economic benefit, but the legislature has until the end of 2013 to overturn that veto.
(source)

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New Jersey: Support for marriage equality jumps again

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, support for full marriage equality in New Jersey continues to climb.

The poll showed backing for same-sex marriage in the Garden State climbed to a new high, 57 percent in favor compared to 37 percent opposed. The day after the state Senate passed a bill supporting gay marriage, a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released on Feb. 14 showed 54 percent of New Jerseyans favor gay marriage compared to 35 percent against.

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Gov. Chris Christie vetoes marriage equality in New Jersey

Gov. Chris Christie has followed through on his promise to reject a bill allowing same-sex marriage in New Jersey by quickly vetoing the measure Friday and renewing his call for a ballot question to decide the issue.

The veto came a day after the state Assembly passed the bill. The state Senate had passed it on Monday. Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, had vowed “very swift action” once the measure reached his desk.

In returning the bill to the Legislature, Christie reaffirmed his view that voters should decide whether to change the definition of marriage in New Jersey. His veto also proposed creating an ombudsman to oversee compliance with the state’s civil union law, which same-sex couples have said is flawed and promotes discrimination.

“I am adhering to what I’ve said since this bill was first introduced — an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide,” Christie said in a statement.

Senate President Steve Sweeney was blunt in his criticism of the governor.

“He had a chance to do the right thing, and failed miserably,” Sweeney said.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the state’s largest gay rights group, Garden State Equality, said Christie’s national political ambitions guided his action.

“He won’t veto the bill because he’s anti-gay,” Goldstein said in a statement issued before the veto was issued Friday. “He’ll veto the bill because the 2016 South Carolina presidential primary electorate is anti-gay.”

Goldstein, who said he has a cordial relationship with the governor, promised to continue fighting him vigorously on the issue. “And we will win, so help me God,” he said.

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New Jersey marriage equality – what can YOU do?

Elected New Jersey legislators passed marriage equality, but Gov. Christie has promised a veto. What can you do to ensure equality in the Garden State?

The host of For & Against, Jim Morrison, reacts to the New Jersey legislature’s passage of marriage equality with a list of ways regular folks can help make a difference.

Call Gov. Christie and voice your support. Calls matter! 609-292-600

Call the two Democratic state senators who voted against equality and ask them to change their vote:

Sen. Rice – 973-371-5665
Sen. Van Drew – 609-465-0700

And talk to everyone you know in New Jersey. Talk, listen, and reach out.

That’s what you can do.