Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) says that the Assembly Judiciary Committee will not hold a vote on same sex marriage legislation and would wait to see what the Senate does before posting it for a vote in the lower house.
“After more than seven hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 7 and continued public debate in the weeks since, we’ve certainly had a chance to hear all sides on marriage equality legislation,” said Roberts in a statement released this afternoon. “I believe ample opportunity has already been given for all views to be heard and additional Assembly committee debate is not needed”
Roberts said that he told the bill’s senate sponsors, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) and state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth), that he will post the bill if it passes the senate.
Steven Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, issued a statement saying Codey and Roberts should post the bill for a vote.
“We’re far from dead – in the long and winding road in this marriage equality battle, anything and everything has happened. On an issue like marriage equality, which thousands of key players in the Democratic party support so passionately, you predict at your own peril,” Goldstein said. “Remember, earlier this month, we won a major victory in the Senate Judiciary Committee when no one thought the bill would even go to any committee. We call on Senator Codey and Speaker Roberts to bring the bill to a vote before their respective houses, and in the meantime, we will continue to work day and night for victory soon.”
