Another victory for traditional marriage yesterday! The New Jersey Senate voted 20 to 14 to reject the bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in the state. The bill needed 21 votes to pass.
You can watch clips of the impassioned Senate debate here.
Shortly after the vote, homosexual rights groups Garden State Equality and Lambda Legal announced they would bring the issue to the Supreme Court, arguing that civil unions, currently legal in the state, do not go far enough to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples. In 2006, a high court ruling in a similar discrimination lawsuit filed by LGBT activists forced the legalization of civil unions in the state.
Outgoing New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine explained the argument behind moving the issue to the courts. “Most assuredly, this is an issue of civil rights and civil liberties, the foundation of our state and federal constitutions,” he said. “Denying any group of people a fundamental human right because of who they are, or whom they love, is wrong, plain and simple.”
Pro-family organizations are also ready for a legal battle. They rightly argue, however, that this is an issue for voter referendum, not judicial activism. Jon Tomicki, a member of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, pointed out, “In 30 other states, voters have gotten the chance to decide. There’s no reason why New Jerseyans shouldn’t have the same right.”
In almost every state where same-sex marriage has been put to public vote, the people have voted in support of traditional marriage.
This victory in New Jersey is only the latest in a series of successes for traditional marriage in the United States. Last month, the New York legislature also defeated a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and a public referendum in the November election overturned similar legislation in the state of Maine.