Just In: NJ Senate Votes No On Toeivah Marriage Bill

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trentonFirst report: 4:36 p.m. EST [Multiple updates below.]: Matzav.com has just learned that New Jersey’s Senate has voted against legalizing toeivah in the Garden State. Some senators who publicly opposed allowing toeivah marriage would have had to switch for the law to pass. Just getting it to a vote was a coup for toeivah rights advocates who lost momentum in November when Republican Chris Christie was elected governor.

But Christie’s victory also gave toeivah rights advocates a greater sense of urgency, because Governor Jon Corzine had said that he would have signed the bill. Christie, who takes office January 19, said he would veto it. But it won’t come to that, boruch Hashem, with the Senate having voted against it.

New Jersey does offer civil unions, which give toeivah couples the legal benefits of marriage but not the title.

Just four state have legalized toeivah marriage, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont, while 30 states have banned it through constitutional amendments.

4:44 p.m.,  More Info: The vote today was 20-14 and followed hours of public debate inside the packed Senate chamber, and loud, often-contentious rallies on the Statehouse steps, with hundreds of supporters and opponents of the measure making their voices heard.

Last month, the legislation cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee after hours of emotional debate and testimony, which set the stage for today’s full Senate showdown.

New Jersey passed a domestic partnership law in 2002 and legalized civil unions in 2006, but supporters say there are major flaws, like problems with pension benefits and hospitals denying visits to partners. They say toeivah couples do not have equal rights without being allowed to marry.

4:52 p.m.: Agudas Yisroel of New Jersey has just released the following statement:

Agudath Israel of New Jersey lauds the New Jersey State Senate on its vote today to defeat the Same Gender Marriage Bill.

“Now that this Bill has been defeated we look forward to the end of the lame duck session and the introduction of legislation that will assist our Mosdos in the new session which begins next week” says Josh Pruzansky, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey.

Pruzansky added “we would also like to thank the community for its action in calling and e-mailing our elected officials and letting them know where we stood on the Same Gender Marriage issue. It is reassuring to know that we have a very active community and we look forward to their assistance in other legislative initiatives”.

{Dovid Bernstein-Matzav.com Newscenter}


12 COMMENTS

  1. Baruch Hashem they used saychel for a change.
    They never should have established civil unions. Civil unions gave khizuk to the vilde chayas. Keep an eye on the
    NJ Assembly and don’t forget to watch out for
    NY Assembly.

  2. you don’t think that today is the day that Klal Yisroel is saved from a “gerferliche G’zera”, as the msg on my voice mail said

    I was impressed with Meshi-Zahav in Yerushalayim, after a terrible incident there, who said that we have our own priorities to take care of, to be me’saken ourselves, before we start worrying about Yenem’s. Since the begining of time, its been alot easier to far’recht Yenem’s rather than fix our own.

    When everything is Kosher Ve’Yosher with ourselves, and we’re not generating fresh Chilul Hashems on a daily basis, then we can start to worry about the Velt.

    Kids are not going off the derech because of toeivah marriage, they’re doing it because of hypocrisy

  3. Mehu, the mabul came because how humanity acted and they were all non-Jews.
    B”H there is still some moral decency to be found in America.

  4. HOW THE OLAM IN TRENTON VOTED:

    YES (14)

    Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic)
    Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex)
    Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex),
    Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), co-sponsor
    Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex)
    Sen. Teresa M. Ruiz (D-Essex)
    Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham (D-Hudson)
    Sen. Brian P. Stack (D-Hudson)
    Sen. Nia H. Gill (D-Essex)
    Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), co-sponsor
    Sen. Robert M. Gordon (D-Bergen)
    Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union)
    Sen. Joseph F.Vitale (D-Middlesex)
    Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Mercer)

    NO (20)

    Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May)
    Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D- Essex)
    Sen. John A. Girgenti (D-Passaic
    Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Hudson) .
    Sen. Fred H. Madden (D-Gloucester)
    Sen. Shirley K. Turner (D-Mercer)
    Sen. Robert W. Singer (R-Ocean)
    Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris)
    Sen. Christopher Bateman, (R-Somerset)
    Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R -Union)
    Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth )
    Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos (R-Monmouth)
    Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen)
    Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Hunterdon)
    Sen. Kevin J. O’Toole (R-Essex)
    Sen. Philip E. Haines (R-Burlington)
    Sen. Christopher J. Connors (R-Ocean)
    Sen. Anthony R. Bucco (R-Morris)
    Sen. Steven V. Oroho (R-Sussex)
    Sen. Sean T. Kean (R-Monmouth)

    ABSTENTIONS (3)

    Sen. Paul A. Sarlo (D-Bergen)
    Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester)
    Sen. James Beach (D-Camden)

    DID NOT ATTEND SESSION (2)

    Sen. Diane B. Allen (R-Burlington)
    Sen. Andrew Ciesla (R-Ocean)
    *Senate has 39 members following this week’s resignation of Dana Redd, a Democrat, after she became mayor of Camden.

  5. Of course, we have to be continually vigilant, for, year after year, the bad people are going to keep bringing this up.

    This is what happened, and is continuing to happen, in California. A number of years ago in one of the elections, a good bill that denied Toeiva marriage, Proposition 22, was approved with an over 60% majority. Despite this, with massive media coverage, the severely wicked mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, Yimach Shemo V’Zichro, brazenly performed many thousands of Toeiva “marriages” at the steps of the building of the city hall accross from the large Civic Center Plaza. Needless to say, this propelled a rocketed boost to the Toeiva marriage thingy, with the media subsequently reporting several city and town mayors accross the country making Toeiva “marriages.”

    Furthermore, each year, the liberal controlled California State Legislature passed a Toeiva marriage bill; however, the govenor, a liberal Republican who supports most Toeiva issues, repeatedly vetoed it (as it was against Prop 22). Then though, the wicked California State Supreme Court declared that Prop 22 was illegal!! (Of course, the fancy word that they use is “unconstitutional.”)

    So in the 2008 election — against severely fierce opposition from most government officials (including the Republican govenor) and most “mainstream” corporations — some good people got approved Proposition 8, an actual amendment to the state constitution that denies Toeiva marriage.

    Right away though, the Toeiva people went to the state supreme court with the complaint that the amendment procedure was not correctly followed and thus Prop 8 should, Chalila, be invalid!! Boruch HaShem though, the court “pretty much” upheld Prop 8: they said that Prop 8 was valid; however, this will be only for the future, but those Toeiva “marriages” that had been done before the passage of Prop 8 (about 18,000 cases) are also valid!!

    It is completely obvious that in the coming 2010 election, the Toeiva people plan to have a new proposal to, Chalila, put in a new amendment to the state constitution to completely undo Prop 8!!

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