On Friday night, Rachel Maddow dug into the impact of the landmark ruling out of New Jersey that will allow same-sex couples to get married starting tomorrow at 12:01 AM, despite Governor Chris Christie's repeated attempts to thwart the efforts of marriage equality advocates. Maddow called attention to a strategy that has been seen across the country and has proven particularly effective in advancing the cause of same-sex marriage: "While marriage rights are still being adjudicated, just get married." As Maddow put it, "Once you have married same-sex couples in your state or city, it's hard for anybody to say for those non-hypothetical flesh and blood real couples with real stories you can meet and look in the eye, it's hard to look at those folks and say there's a state interest in unmarrying you."
Maddow also interviewed Governor Christie's Democratic challenger in the upcoming New Jersey gubernatorial election, State Senator Barbara Buono. Buono criticized Christie on a number of issues, key amongst them his stance on gay rights. Referring to his comments at a recent debate about how he would respond if he had a son or daughter that came out to him as gay and whether that would sway his position on same-sex marriage, Buono countered "Our gay brothers and sisters don't need a hug, they need to be treated as equals."
You can check out the clip in full AFTER THE JUMP…
