The Whole Nation is Watching
Posted September 25, 2009

As the New Jersey legislature preps to vote on same-sex "marriage" sometime after the November election and before the start of the next legislative session in January – in what's known as the Lame Duck session – the eyes of the nation are turned east.

Recently, in her column "Ann Rostow National News Roundup: Christmas Weddings in New Jersey?," published in the San Francisco Bay Times, the self-proclaimed "Gay/Lesbian/Bi/Trans Newspaper & Events Calendar for the Bay Area," columnist Ann Rostow wrote the following:

My understanding was that the state legislature had decided to postpone the debate on marriage equality until after the gubernatorial election, an irritating strategy in light of the fact that it looks as if pro-marriage [read: "pro-gay marriage"] incumbent Jon Corzine will be upended by his anti-marriage [read: "anti-gay marriage"] Republican foe, Chris Christie.

Now I gather that they are planning a vote in November or December in order for Corzine to be able to sign a bill before he quacks his last.

We've been saying it for months, and here it is being heralded from across the country: the legislature and pro-gay-marriage activists are strategizing to push through a so-called "marriage equality" (read: "same-sex marriage") bill THIS Lame Duck Session.

And if the legislature succeeds, Governor Corzine will sign the bill into law. He has already promised to do so. 

In fact, Rostow wrote, "Corzine himself told an Atlantic City newspaper this week that he ‘looks forward to signing marriage equality legislation' and thinks this happy day could arrive before the end of the year."

Could there be Christmas same-sex weddings in New Jersey this year?

As we celebrate the sacred Christmas season, will same-sex couples be sending out wedding invitations, with the sanction and blessing of New Jersey law?

Pro-gay-marriage crusaders across the country know New Jersey is the next battleground for marriage. Much attention has been given to California recently, and with good reason. As we know, in that state – as in every other state in which voters have been allowed to have their voice heard – Californians stood up and said loudly that marriage in their state would be recognized only as between one man and one woman.

In fact, the only way pro-gay-marriage activists have been successful anywhere in usurping the label "marriage" for their lifestyle choice has been either through the courts or through the legislature. Nowhere have they been able to get enough voter support to vote same-sex marriage into law.

Now, all eyes are on New Jersey. Will the New Jersey legislature choose to censor the voice of the people by not even providing us the opportunity to vote on this critical issue? Our elected officials regularly put public questions on the ballot dealing with everything from state borrowing to the process for appointing judges. Isn't marriage not simply equally but far more important an issue?

Why are so many legislators opposed to giving the people a vote? What are they afraid of?

It's high time for our elected representatives to reject the pressure of the special interest groups like Garden State Equality and the ACLU to radically redefine marriage and instead put the issue to a public vote. It's time to Let the People Decide!

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