State's leading
lawmakers cite lack
of public backing for
gay marriage
By JONATHAN TAMARI,
Home News Tribune Online, November 1, 2006
TRENTON — Gay marriage could
be a reality in New Jersey in the future as public opinion evolves, the state's
two top lawmakers said yesterday.
Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, and Assembly Speaker Joseph J.
Roberts Jr., D-Camden, said there is not enough support from the public or
lawmakers to approve gay marriage now. But both said public opinion is
changing.
"If you look at the ways we've advanced in terms of rights for gays and
lesbians, clearly the next step would be marriage," Codey said.
In the immediate future, however, the Legislature will likely approve civil
unions that grant committed same-sex couples all of the rights of married
couples, Codey and Roberts said in separate interviews.
"At some point down the line there will be broader support for same-sex
marriage, but I don't believe we are there yet," said Roberts, who himself
favors gay marriage over civil unions.
That move would expand on New Jersey's domestic partnership law, approved in
2004, that gave same-sex couples some of the rights of marriage. Codey
pointed to the changes as evidence of the growing gay and lesbian rights in the
state.
"If you look at the history for domestic partnerships and the fact that we are
probably going to do civil unions, the next step that would clarify everything
would be marriage," Codey said.
Codey said polling data shows growing acceptance of gay marriage. If that
trend continues, the Legislature will come to reflect those beliefs in future
years, he said. In an interview on WCBS radio Codey said that the change
might come in six or seven years but later said he was only speculating.
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