The "imminent threat" of Gay Marriage

[rusty charly]

As they await a New Jersey Supreme Court decision on gay marriage in the Garden State, social conservatives say they are prepared to take the fight to the ballot box if they lose in the legal arena. "If we get to an imminent threat, if we get to the point where marriage is going to be decided by the court, shouldn't we get to weigh in an issue of such magnitude?" said Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060813/NEWS03/608130424/1007

Like advocates for gay marriage, New Jersey's conservative lobbyists and lawmakers are gearing up for a political battle in the aftermath of the court's ruling in the landmark case of Lewis v. Harris, in which seven gay couples contend not letting them marry is a violation of the state constitution. A decision could come any time and is expected by Oct. 25, the day before Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz turns 70 and is required to retire.

New Jersey is one of only five states without a specific ban on gay marriage. But municipal clerks in the state cannot grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the state Attorney General's Office has said that same-sex marriage is not lawful. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say they should be able to get marriage licenses.

Whichever side loses in court will be at a disadvantage when they turn to the political arena to plead their case: The losers will try to persuade lawmakers to act. The winning side simply can ask the Legislature to do nothing.

[Reverend_Smitty]

1. lets hope the knuckle draggers don't come out in full force

I hope NJ can become an example for the country that if gay couples are allowed to marry, life will go on and the world will not end.

I know Poritz is a Whitman appointee but does anyone know what her political leanings are? I can't imagine too RW since Whitman was a pro-choice moderate Republican (an endangered species these days)

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Perhaps an initiative

Similar to the one I will be proposing in Washington State: http://www.wa-doma.org

It seems a logical response to the closest thing the bigots have to a legal argument against equal marriage.

[NNadir]

3. Well there goes my heterosexuality.

:sarcasm: