NJ Marriage Bill Advances

As expected, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced its marriage equality bill to a vote before the full chamber. The vote was 8-4 along party lines. Igor Volsky reports at Think Progress:

To become law, “the measure must also pass the Assembly and get by the governor,” who earlier today pledged to veto the bill and called on residents to vote on whether gays and lesbian can marry. During the vote, Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) directly addressed Christie’s comments. “The last time to my knowledge we put a civil right issue on referendum in the state of New Jersey was in 1915 and it was woman’s suffrage issue and the vote went down,” she said. “Women were not allowed to vote. This is our responsibility in this legislature.” Christie could either veto the measure, sign it, or “do nothing for 45 days and simply allow it to become law without his signature.”

I'll post the full Senate whip count as soon we know it.