New Jersey Lawmaker Introduces Marriage Equality Referendum

New Jersey’s first openly gay legislator, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D), has introduced a bill that would allow New Jersey voters to approve marriage equality at the polls. Though he admits his reservations about voting on civil rights, he believes “the timing is right.” Gov. Chris Christie (R) would likely sign such a bill, because when he vetoed marriage equality earlier this year, he said that people should have the opportunity to vote on the issue. ThinkProgress has previously pointed out that a ballot fight would be incredibly costly and detrimental to the health of LGBT New Jerseyans. A lawsuit challenging the state’s civil unions law is still playing out in court, and the legislature could still override Christie’s veto, avoiding the costly burden of referendum campaign.