New Jersey lawmakers on Monday approved
a bill that seeks to enshrine same-sex marriage into state law.
The measure cleared the Senate with a
35-4 vote. The Assembly voted on the bill with a 53-10 vote with four
abstentions, NJ.com reported.
Gay and lesbian couples won the right
to marry in New Jersey in 2013, when the New Jersey Supreme Court
refused to hear a lower court ruling that struck down as
unconstitutional state laws that define marriage as a heterosexual
union.
Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court
in Obergefell found that gay couples have a constitutional
right to marry.
Despite these rulings, state law still
defines marriage as a heterosexual union.
Lawmakers approved a similar bill in
2012 but it was vetoed by former Governor Chris Christie, a
Republican.
Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is
expected to sign the marriage bill (A5367).
Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, a Democrat
from Hudson, is a sponsor of the bill. He told NJ.com that marriage
equality is under threat as the Supreme Court reviews laws in Texas
and Mississippi that severely restrict a woman's access to abortion.
“It underscores the need for us to
take a look at this and move on this right now because there's an
actual threat,” he
said.