http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/09/amick_gay_marriage_advocates_l.html
Amick: Gay marriage advocates lobby to override Christie's veto
Garden State Equality and other gay rights groups rally on the steps of the New Jersey State House in Trenton in June. (Carmine Galasso photo)
on September 16, 2013 at 7:23 AM, updated September 16, 2013 at 7:26 AM
It would appear at first glance to be Mission: Impossible.
A group of prominent advocates is attempting to persuade Republicans and a handful of reluctant Democrats in the Legislature to help override Gov. Chris Christie’s 2012 veto of a same-sex marriage bill before the current term expires in January 2014.
Well-financed and well-organized, they’re undaunted by the near-total control Christie has wielded up to now over his fellow Republicans in the Senate and Assembly.
Not once since he became governor have the Democratic legislative leaders been able to muster the two-thirds “supermajority” in each house needed to override a veto. The power a New Jersey chief executive possesses to help or hurt a lawmaker’s political career and Republicans’ awareness of how this extraordinarily short-fused incumbent would likely react if they disrespected him have combined to keep his record perfect.
Add the likelihood that soon after the override vote on the marriage bill is held, Christie will be sworn in for a second term with a big re-election victory under his belt, and the conventional wisdom would say it can’t be done.
But New Jersey United for Marriage, a new alliance of national and state gay rights and civil rights groups, believes it can.
It has been able to attract wealthy activists to provide funding; corporate leaders to talk up the economic benefits of marriage equality; über-lobbyists such as Dale Florio and Hazel Gluck; prominent Republicans such as Steve Schmidt, a key adviser to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Tom Wilson, a former state GOP chairman; and communications specialists such as Chris Donnelly, press secretary for the Senate Democratic majority.
The bill Christie vetoed, S1, passed the Senate 24-16, with two Republicans, Sens. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Jennifer Beck (R-Red Bank), voting yes and two Democrats voting no. If those four votes remain unchanged, three additional yes votes will be needed to beat the veto.
In the Assembly, the tally was 42-33, with no Republicans voting yes, two Democrats voting no, three Republicans and one Democrat not voting, and one Democratic seat temporarily vacant. A veto override will require 12 additional ayes.
At least three of those 12 — one Republican and two Democratic — are in sight right now.
The Republican, freshman Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi of River Vale, who didn’t vote earlier, now says she’ll support the override effort.
For her, the deciding factor was the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act. With DOMA dead, federal agencies can grant benefits to same-sex married couples in the 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, which allow such marriages. At one stroke, the justices ended any pretense that New Jersey’s law authorizing civil unions affords the equal rights and privileges to same-sex couples to which the New Jersey Supreme Court has said they’re entitled.
On the Democratic side, the two Assembly members who weren’t available for the original vote, Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Gabriela Mosquera (D-Laurel Springs), also intend to back the override, although DeAngelo said he’ll listen to constituents on both sides of the issue first.
“I’m for equal treatment,” he told me. Carol Murphy, a spokeswoman for Mosquera, said her boss “supports same-sex marriage and will vote for the override.”
The two other Republicans who didn’t vote in 2012, Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) and Mary Pat Angelini (R-Ocean), haven’t committed themselves, but United for Marriage members think there’s a good chance the two will end up on their side.
The advocates intend to make their case to individual lawmakers with arguments such as these:
That’s the pitch. Will it be persuasive? Stay tuned.
A group of prominent advocates is attempting to persuade Republicans and a handful of reluctant Democrats in the Legislature to help override Gov. Chris Christie’s 2012 veto of a same-sex marriage bill before the current term expires in January 2014.
Well-financed and well-organized, they’re undaunted by the near-total control Christie has wielded up to now over his fellow Republicans in the Senate and Assembly.
Not once since he became governor have the Democratic legislative leaders been able to muster the two-thirds “supermajority” in each house needed to override a veto. The power a New Jersey chief executive possesses to help or hurt a lawmaker’s political career and Republicans’ awareness of how this extraordinarily short-fused incumbent would likely react if they disrespected him have combined to keep his record perfect.
Add the likelihood that soon after the override vote on the marriage bill is held, Christie will be sworn in for a second term with a big re-election victory under his belt, and the conventional wisdom would say it can’t be done.
But New Jersey United for Marriage, a new alliance of national and state gay rights and civil rights groups, believes it can.
It has been able to attract wealthy activists to provide funding; corporate leaders to talk up the economic benefits of marriage equality; über-lobbyists such as Dale Florio and Hazel Gluck; prominent Republicans such as Steve Schmidt, a key adviser to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Tom Wilson, a former state GOP chairman; and communications specialists such as Chris Donnelly, press secretary for the Senate Democratic majority.
The bill Christie vetoed, S1, passed the Senate 24-16, with two Republicans, Sens. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Jennifer Beck (R-Red Bank), voting yes and two Democrats voting no. If those four votes remain unchanged, three additional yes votes will be needed to beat the veto.
In the Assembly, the tally was 42-33, with no Republicans voting yes, two Democrats voting no, three Republicans and one Democrat not voting, and one Democratic seat temporarily vacant. A veto override will require 12 additional ayes.
At least three of those 12 — one Republican and two Democratic — are in sight right now.
The Republican, freshman Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi of River Vale, who didn’t vote earlier, now says she’ll support the override effort.
For her, the deciding factor was the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act. With DOMA dead, federal agencies can grant benefits to same-sex married couples in the 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, which allow such marriages. At one stroke, the justices ended any pretense that New Jersey’s law authorizing civil unions affords the equal rights and privileges to same-sex couples to which the New Jersey Supreme Court has said they’re entitled.
On the Democratic side, the two Assembly members who weren’t available for the original vote, Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Gabriela Mosquera (D-Laurel Springs), also intend to back the override, although DeAngelo said he’ll listen to constituents on both sides of the issue first.
“I’m for equal treatment,” he told me. Carol Murphy, a spokeswoman for Mosquera, said her boss “supports same-sex marriage and will vote for the override.”
The two other Republicans who didn’t vote in 2012, Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) and Mary Pat Angelini (R-Ocean), haven’t committed themselves, but United for Marriage members think there’s a good chance the two will end up on their side.
The advocates intend to make their case to individual lawmakers with arguments such as these:
“Assemblywoman Schepisi said it: The Supreme Court’s decision to throw out DOMA was a game-changer. It’s now clear that New Jersey’s civil union law doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. As legislators who respect the national and state constitutions, you should want to address that problem.
“Inevitably, same-sex marriage is going to come to New Jersey. We’re one of only two states in the Northeast — Pennsylvania is the other — that doesn’t allow it. Polls show it’s favored by up to 64 percent of the public. It will become a reality here either because you vote it in or because the courts order it, and it’s on a potential fast track in the state courts right now.
“If you do the job, you can assure churches and clergy and religious organizations in your districts that object to same-sex marriage that nothing will change for them; they’ll have no obligation to solemnize gay weddings or acknowledge them in any way. The bill makes that clear. There’s no guarantee that a court decision would do the same. That should be an incentive to you to take the initiative yourselves.
“The Christie factor? Assume the governor is re-elected. Whether he wins big or wins small, the day he takes the oath of office he’ll be a lame duck. The pressure on you to do things his way will ease. In a couple of years, he could resign to run for president. But you’ll still be here, probably long after he’s gone. As for other concerns, we can show you evidence that only a tiny number of legislators nationwide who voted for gay marriage paid any price for it at election time.
“It’s going to be part of your legacy, one way or another. If it happens because of the courts, and not because of your vote, it will be a part of history that you can’t change. Do you really want to have to explain a few years from now — when marriage equality will be in the mainstream, not even in the discussion any longer — why you resisted it to the end?”
That’s the pitch. Will it be persuasive? Stay tuned.
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