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Oct 5, 2006 2:31 pm US/Eastern
Corzine Will Back Gay Marriage If N.J. Court Does
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ―
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N.J. Governor Corzine says he won't support legislation banning gay marriage if the state Supreme Court rules such unions constitutional.
CBS
New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine will not approve legislation banning gay marriage if the state's highest court rules that such unions are legal, a Corzine spokesman said Thursday.
The Democrat governor has said marriage should be between a man and a woman and has not voiced support for legalizing gay marriage, but the comments by his administration was a key indication of potential fallout from a pending state Supreme Court ruling on same-sex unions.
"If the Supreme Court rules that gay marriage is constitutional, the governor would not sign legislation to take away people's rights," said spokesman Anthony Coley on the same day gay marriage opponents rallied at the state Capitol.
Foes and proponents of gay marriage are awaiting the high court's ruling on a lawsuit filed by seven gay couples who contend state law allows them to marry. Advocacy groups expect a decision by Oct. 25, the day before the court's current chief justice turns 70 and is required to retire.
Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Council, said at the rally that the lawsuit seeks "to undermine the most basic institution of our culture, marriage, which is the bedrock of a stable society."
Deo said participants gave Corzine's administration petitions from 2,000 churches supporting keeping marriage as being between a man and woman.
He was among about 125 people who rallied against gay marriage, gathering in Trenton to pray for marriage being upheld as a union between opposite sexes.
"Marriage is between a man and a woman," said Bishop George Benbow, of Christian Fellowship Church in Plainfield. "It is a very sacred, sanctified institution ordained by God."
The Rev. Anthony Franklin, of Christ Church in Montclair, said children are better off in either single-parent homes or foster care than with a same-sex couple.
"It was never intended for families to be brought up where there is same sex," Franklin said. "It is unnatural."
Gay marriage supporters were unmoved by the rally.
"In all the years since the hatemongers have held their rallies in front of the State House, support for marriage equality in New Jersey has increased steadily," said Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality. "This is a train wreck we're happy to watch."
Goldstein said polls indicate New Jerseyans favor gay marriage and oppose a state constitutional ban on it.
"These hatemongers are their own worst enemies, preaching the wrong message in the wrong state," Goldstein said.
New Jersey is among five states without a specific gay marriage ban, but municipal clerks cannot grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the state Attorney General's office has said that it is not legal.
Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage, following its state high court ruling in 2003 that its state constitution guaranteed gays and lesbians the right to marry. Massachusetts lawmakers are expected to vote in November whether a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage should be put to voters.
No New Jersey lawmaker has introduced a bill to authorize gay marriage, though several Republicans have introduced a measure that would explicitly prohibit it. That bill has never received a hearing.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
