N.J. Lawmakers Working to Override Christie’s Marriage Equality Veto

Gay rights advocates have been "working the phones" trying to get the votes they need to flip the Governor's decision.

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Democratic leaders in New Jersey’s Senate and Assembly are pushing for an override of Governor Chris Christie’s veto on a marriage-equality bill that he made last year. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, is spearheading the initiative. In an article on PolitickerNJ, he says:

He met with both Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and both men were committed to putting the bill up for an override. The bill did not pass in either house with enough votes to override the governor’s action, but gay rights advocates have been working the phones for a year trying to turn lawmakers in their favor. The bill passed 24-16 in the Senate and 42-33 in the Assembly. In the Senate, three additional votes are needed to pass an override, while in the Assembly an additional 12 are needed for the two-thirds majority required to override. “I think we can get the three in the Senate,” he said. “But the Assembly is a different story. I can name five who might switch their vote, but it stops there.” Gusciora said he spoke to both men about the possibility of a ballot initiative to legalize same sex marriage, however Gusciora said Sweeney was against the idea.

Sweeney says the vote to override probably won’t happen “until after the June primary election when Republicans may feel more free to vote for the override without fear of retribution from conservative voters or the governor.” You can read the rest of PolitickerNJ’s article here.

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