Marriage Slowdown in NJ and NY

The Associated Press looks at what appears to be the delay in marriage equality progress in New Jersey and New York since voters in Maine repealed their state's marriage equality law November 3.

Prior to the approval of Question 1 in Maine, legislatures in New Jersey and New York appeared more firmly on track to pass marriage equality bills, which both states' governors, Jon Corzine and David Paterson, respectively, have pledged to sign.

"But now it's not clear if bills will ever get to their desks," reports the Associated Press. "There could be national implications if they don't."

Marriage equality advocates insist that hope is alive for the bills, but opponents say that some lawmakers' reluctance to bring them to the floor proves their point that Americans are not ready for same-sex marriage.

Kenneth Sherrill, a political scientist at Hunter College in New York, is quoted as saying that lawmakers should be concerned about the reaction from both opponents and advocates, a sign of the growing power of the gay rights movement.

"It's not as if politicians only have to fear an enraged group of people opposed to gay rights," said Sherrill. "Politicians also have to be concerned about angry supporters of gay rights."