New Jersey's legislature is planning votes in both the Senate and Assembly to override Chris Christie's February 2012 veto of a marriage equality bill that passed both houses there, Politicker NJ reports:
[Reed] Gusciora (pictured), an openly gay lawmaker who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, said he met with both Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and both men were committed to putting the bill up for an override. The bill did not pass in either house with enough votes to override the governor's action, but gay rights advocates have been working the phones for a year trying to turn lawmakers in their favor.
The bill passed 24-16 in the Senate and 42-33 in the Assembly. In the Senate, three additional votes are needed to pass an override, while in the Assembly an additional 12 are needed for the two-thirds majority required to override.
"I think we can get the three in the Senate," he said. "But the Assembly is a different story. I can name five who might switch their vote, but it stops there."
Gusciora said he spoke to both men about the possibility of a ballot initiative to legalize same sex marriage, however Gusciora said Sweeney was against the idea.
Sweeney says he wants to wait to have the override vote until June when Republicans will feel free to vote without retribution.
