NJ Activists Press Same-Sex Marriage

Special Report - March 25, 2010
Homosexual activists in New Jersey are going back to the courts to try to force the redefinition of marriage on the people of that state, after failing to get a marriage redefinition law enacted by the New Jersey legislature earlier this year. As we previously reported, a bill that would have legalized same-sex “marriage” in New Jersey failed to pass in the State Senate in January by a vote of 20 to 14. In response, on March 18, Lambda Legal filed a motion with the New Jersey Supreme Court to “reactivate” its marriage redefinition lawsuit, Lewis v. Harris, which it originally filed in 2002 on behalf of six same-sex couples (now seven total, as another couple has joined the lawsuit). In 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in Lewis v. Harris that the legislature had to legalize same-sex “marriage” or its equivalent within six months to comply with the equal protection clause of the New Jersey constitution. The legislature responded in 2007 by passing a civil unions law, which granted same-sex couples most of the legal rights and privileges traditionally extended to married couples. Still, Lambda Legal and their allies argue that civil unions are not enough.

“The New Jersey Supreme Court ordered equality for same-sex couples when it decided our marriage lawsuit in 2006, and the legislature has failed to meet that crystal-clear obligation,” said Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director Hayley Gorenberg, in a press release. “Civil unions are a failed legislative experiment in providing equality—marriage equality is the only solution.”

As homosexual activists continue their efforts to redefine marriage nationwide, North Carolina remains the only state in the south without a constitutional amendment that puts the definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman into our state constitution. Legislation that would give North Carolinians the opportunity to vote on a marriage protection amendment—which is the only way to protect our marriage laws from redefinition—has been introduced in the General Assembly for six years in a row. Unfortunately, the measures have never made it out of committee and onto the floor of either chamber for an up or down vote. Lawmakers will get another chance to consider the legislation this May, when the General Assembly reconvenes in Raleigh.

In related news, two of the nation’s leading experts on marriage will be in Charlotte, North Carolina next week to address the case against same-sex “marriage.” Robert P. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, are the keynote speakers for the Southern Evangelical Seminary’s 4th Annual Veritas Lecture Series, entitled “Marriage: Why it Can and Must Be Saved.” The event is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 1, and is open to the public. More information on the event and how to purchase tickets can be found here.

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