by
Garden State Equality in support of same-sex marriage and against the
deportation of LGBT spouses
Background Beginning on March 5, 2004, Kiki Tomek, the Deputy City Clerk of
Asbury Park, processed
marriage licenses for same-sex couples for several days. Deputy Mayor James Bruno married one couple on March 8, but then heeded a warning from the
New Jersey Attorney General,
Peter C. Harvey, to stop issuing such licenses. A legislative commission was formed to review whether civil unions brought equality to same-sex couples. It determined that civil unions failed to provide equal treatment. On December 10, 2008, the Commission released its unanimous finding that marriage laws should be made
gender-neutral to ensure equal treatment of same-sex couples. Governor Corzine had indicated that he would sign a bill to allow
same-sex marriage. In late 2009,
lame duck Governor Corzine stated that he would sign a bill legalizing same-sex marriage if it came to his desk before he left office, while his
newly elected Republican successor
Chris Christie said that he would promote a
constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. However, the political situation at the time made such an amendment unlikely, and Governor Christie later supported a public vote on same-sex marriage; while he was personally opposed to it, he promised not to revisit the same-sex marriage issue if it was legalized by popular vote. On July 26, 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined a request on the part of the plaintiffs in
Lewis v. Harris that it review whether the State Legislature had complied with the court's order in that case. It said it wanted the challenge to begin in a lower court where a trial record could be developed.
Legislation On December 7, 2009, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee approved a same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 7 to 6, after seven hours of testimony and debate. It was amended in committee to clarify that clergy would not be required to perform weddings for same-sex couples. On January 7, 2010, the
New Jersey Senate defeated the measure in a 20–14 vote. On February 13, 2012, the Senate passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage by a vote of 24 to 16, and on February 16, the
Assembly passed it by a vote of 42 to 33, with three Republicans and one
Democrat not voting, and one Democratic seat temporarily vacant. In neither house was the bill passed by a veto-proof majority. Governor Christie
vetoed the bill the next day and called for a constitutional amendment for same-sex marriage to be presented to voters as a ballot referendum. On February 21, 2013, Democratic leaders announced plans to hold a vote to override Christie's veto. The legislation needed three additional votes in the Senate and 12 in the House. The State Legislature had until January 2014 to override the veto. Democratic legislative leaders discussed the matter with Christie in July. Senate President
Stephen Sweeney said Christie was intimidating some Republicans who supported same-sex marriage, and State Senator
Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate for governor, called Christie the "one man in New Jersey ... that stands in the way of marriage equality". Christie said in response: "If you want to change the core of a 2,000-year-old institution, the way to do that is to put it in front of the voters in the state of New Jersey and let them vote". In September 2013, legislators in favor of the bill were organizing an attempt at the veto override, and several legislators who had not voted on the bill or had voted against committed to supporting it. However, the veto was not overriden by the January 2014 deadline.
Garden State Equality v. Dow On June 29, 2011,
Lambda Legal filed suit in the Law Division of Superior Court in
Mercer County on behalf of
Garden State Equality, seven same-sex couples, and several of their children, arguing that New Jersey's civil unions did not provide the same rights as
marriage as required by the court's decision in
Lewis. On September 27, 2013, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry in accordance with the
U.S. Supreme Court's decision in
United States v. Windsor. Jacobson ruled that as of October 21, 2013, the state "shall permit" same-sex couples to marry. On October 18, 2013, the Supreme Court rendered a provisional, unanimous (7–0 vote) order denying the stay, thereby provisionally authorizing same-sex marriage in the state pending its decision on the state's appeal of Judge Jacobson's ruling. In the Supreme Court's decision, Chief Justice
Stuart Rabner wrote that "the state has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today". The court held that it could "find no public interest in depriving a group of New Jersey residents of their constitutional right to equal protection while the appeals process unfolds." Weddings were performed just after midnight on October 21, 2013, and Governor Christie dropped his administration's appeal of the lower court ruling that morning. Among the first couples to marry were Joseph Panessidi and Orville Bell in
Newark shortly after midnight on October 21. Their marriage was officiated by
Mayor Cory Booker, who also officiated at six other same-sex marriages that day.
Developments after legalization In December 2021, the New Jersey Legislature passed legislation to codify same-sex marriage into state statues. The bill was passed 35–4 in the Senate, and 53–10 in the Assembly. It was signed into law by Governor
Phil Murphy on January 10, 2022. New Jersey statutes were amended to read: In July 2022, Garden State Equality, the
Hudson Pride Connections Center and the Latino Action Network reported that the municipal websites of
Estell Manor,
Fairview,
Hanover Township,
Linden,
New Hanover Township, and
South Toms River contained language stating that only opposite-sex couples may apply for marriage licenses. Attorney General
Matt Platkin announced in October 2022 that the Division on Civil Rights had launched an enforcement initiative to ensure that municipal governments not discriminate against same-sex couples in their webpages on vital records and marriage application instructions. Platkin said, "Marriage equality is the law here in New Jersey. But when municipalities use language indicating that individuals cannot obtain a marriage license based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, they violate that basic promise." The municipalities modified their webpages following the publication of the report.
Economic impact A 2006 study from the
University of California, Los Angeles estimated the potential economic impact of same-sex marriage on the New Jersey economy and concluded that the gain would be substantial. If New Jersey were to give same-sex couples the right to marry, that is marriage itself and not civil unions, the state would experience a surge in spending on weddings by same-sex couples who currently live in New Jersey, as well as an increase in wedding and tourist spending by same-sex couples from other states. The analysis outlined in detail in the report predicted that sales by New Jersey's wedding and tourism-related businesses would rise by
$102.5 million in each of the first three years when marriage for same-sex couples is legal. As a result, the state's gross receipt tax revenues would rise by $7.2 million per year, and 1,400 new jobs would be created in relevant industries.
Demographics and marriage statistics Data from the
2000 U.S. census showed that 16,604 same-sex couples were living in New Jersey. By 2005, this had increased to 20,677 couples, likely attributed to same-sex couples' growing willingness to disclose their partnerships on government surveys. Same-sex couples lived in all
counties of the state and constituted 0.9% of coupled households and 0.5% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in
Essex,
Hudson,
Bergen and
Middlesex counties. Same-sex partners in New Jersey were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and more likely to be employed. However, the average and median household incomes of same-sex couples were lower than different-sex couples, and same-sex couples were also far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. 21% of same-sex couples in New Jersey were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 8,337 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005. The
2020 U.S. census showed that there were 17,342 married same-sex couple households (8,197 male couples and 9,145 female couples) and 10,701 unmarried same-sex couple households in New Jersey. ==Public opinion==