One day after issuing a ruling that effectively removed federal oversight of state election laws and opened the doors to new restrictions on voting by minorities, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed course, expanding the rights of gays and lesbians to marry.
The historic rulings — which allowed a lower court decision invalidating California’s ban on gay marriage to stand and found the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional — appear to have altered the marriage landscape to ensure that gay and lesbian couples have the same rights as the rest of us.
I say appear, because we still have not seen the actual California ruling, so it remains unclear how far of a reach the ruling will have.
California would be the 12th state where same-sex marriage is legal; 30 states have specific legal bans and eight others — including New Jersey — do not allow it, but do not have specific language banning it. The state Legislature here has passed legislation that would make same-sex marriage legal, but it was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie. An override vote is not likely before November and there is talk of November ballot initiative, though it lacks support of legislative leadership.
Today’s ruling hopefully will lend momentum for change in the Garden State, though I doubt we will see movement on Assemblyman Reed Gusciora’s efforts to place marriage equality on the ballot.
Here is the statement from Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Sen. Loretta Weinberg — two of the strongest supporters of marriage equality in the state:
“It is fantastic and truly historic that the Court has invalidated DOMA. That law went against what all of us know to be true: that people are entitled to marry the person they love regardless of gender. By striking down DOMA, the Court sent a message that inequality will not be tolerated in our country.”
“This decision marks significant progress in the ongoing fight for civil rights for all Americans. It is a shame that New Jersey stands so far behind the rest of the country and now the Supreme Court on this issue. It is time to finally establish marriage equality here in New Jersey and for those who have worked to obstruct true equality to get out of the way.”
Strong words, but nothing that indicates a shift. The ball, remember, remains in the Legislature’s court — either it needs to post an override or place the question on the ballot. We know where Christie stands.
Hank Kalet 