Days ago the New Jersey Supreme Court refused - unanimously - to enjoin an order by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson that prohibition of same-sex marriages in New Jersey was unconstitutional and that such marriages would be allowed to take place beginning on October 21st.
And so the wedding plans began:
Two ... plaintiffs, Louise Walpin and Marsha Shapiro, planned to seal their 24-year union with a midnight wedding at the home of state Sen. Ray Lesniak, a sponsor of the vetoed gay marriage law. Another state lawmaker who’s been a longtime advocate for same-sex marriage, Sen. Loretta Weinberg, is to walk the couple down the aisle.
Then the issue of New Jersey's 72-hour waiting period came up. But at least one judge
was willing to issue a waiver just hours ago:
I'm going to waive the 72-hour waiting period and you will be able to get married 12 o'clock Monday, Costello told longtime partners Gabriela Celeiro and Elizabeth Salerno inside her Essex County chambers tonight, clearing the last hurdle blocking provisional same-sex marriages in New Jersey.
And
Three gay couples are set to be wed just after the clock strikes midnight tonight at Jersey City City Hall, one of a host of New Jersey cities hosting gay marriage ceremonies early Monday morning... Mayor Steve Fulop, also a gay marriage advocate, is officiating the three weddings.
It is now minutes into October 21st in New Jersey, and the tweets tell us the first same-sex marriages have been performed!
New Jersey becomes the 14th state, along with the District of Columbia, to perform same-sex marriages. It's entry into the list of those states with marriage equality brings the population of such jurisdictions up to just about 33% of the United States population.
New Jersey may well soon be joined by New Mexico, whose Supreme Court will decide the legality of same-sex marriages there in one week. The Hawaii legislature, meeting in special session, looks all but certain to pass legislation providing marriage equality to the Aloha State. And in Illinois, a big blue state, its legislature will decide whether to take up the matter soon as well.
Lawsuits are in various stages of process in states all over the country. From Pennsylvania to Nevada, from Arizona to South Carolina, Windsor (the DOMA decision) has created hope that in the not-all-that-too-distant future, the United States Supreme Court will ultimately rule that denying same-sex couple the right to marry is a violation of their fundamental rights.
Sun Oct 20, 2013 at 9:13 PM PT:
Sun Oct 20, 2013 at 9:24 PM PT:
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Gay couples have begun exchanging wedding vows in New Jersey as the state began recognizing their marriages.
Under a court order, same-sex marriages became legal at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Couples joining in early-morning ceremonies in Newark, Elizabeth and other communities became the first to take advantage of their new status.
Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey of Lambertville were among the first to be wed. The pair also was joined in a civil union the minute they became legal in 2007.
http://www.npr.org/...
Sun Oct 20, 2013 at 9:25 PM PT:
Sun Oct 20, 2013 at 9:34 PM PT:
Sun Oct 20, 2013 at 10:05 PM PT: