8 Top Prospects for Expanding Marriage Equality

New Jersey: New Jersey may have the nation’s toughest anti-bullying law, but it trails its larger neighbor New York when it comes to marriage equality. Governor Chris Christie vetoed legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature last year, saying that voters should decide the issue in a referendum. Although polls show a majority of voters support marriage equality, advocates refuse to put civil rights to a vote, not to mention the expense of a referendum campaign, so they plan to find enough Republican lawmakers to override the governor’s veto before the session ends in early 2014. The wave of recent marriage equality victories could be persuasive to some legislators, and perhaps even Christie, a Republican who is said to be eyeing a presidential run in 2016. Advocates also have a lawsuit in state Superior Court claiming the civil unions law does not give same-sex couples the same protections as married straight couples.