N.J. Marriage Bill Stalls in Committee

A bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the Garden State may not make it to the governor's desk before his exit in January.

According to the head of the New Jersey senate’s judiciary committee, a bill that w
ould allow same-sex marriage in the Garden State does not have enough votes to move on to the full senate.

“Today, as I stand here, we do not have the votes in the judiciary committee,” state senator Paul Sarlo, chair of the judiciary committee, said Friday, reports the Associated Press. “Until somebody can demonstrate that we have the votes in the judiciary committee, it will not be posted.”

Gay rights activists are pushing lawmakers to adopt a marriage equality bill before the current governor, Jon S. Corzine, leaves office in January

Corzine, a Democrat, has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill, while Governor-elect Chris Christie, a Republican, has stated he would veto such legislation.

The bill must clear the judiciary committee before the full senate can vote on the legislation. If it passes the senate and the assembly, the bill would move to the governor’s office to either be endorsed or vetoed. Assembly leaders are uncertain the bill has the votes to pass that chamber either.