NJ Assembly PASSES Marriage Bill

UPDATE: By a vote of 41-33 the New Jersey Assembly has approved its marriage equality bill. That's far below the necessary 54 votes for an override of Gov. Christie's promised veto. Nevertheless, we WON and New Jersey can now be added to the lengthening list of states with legislatively approved marriage equality.

UPDATE II: The New York Times says the final vote tally was 42-33 and not 41-33 as displayed by the final tote board in the chamber. That figure matches the 75 reps who responded to the initial quorum call I heard the speaker make.

NOTE: New Jersey has 80 Assembly districts which means that six legislators did not vote. A tipster tells me that one of the missing reps is a Republican who would have been a "yes" vote. As for the other five missing votes, I have no idea. There were no abstentions.

EARLIER: The voting should commence sometime around 1pm Eastern. We need 41 votes to win, 54 to override. Even with Monday's win in the Senate, all this may seem symbolic in the face of Christie's promised veto. But let's not forget the enduring power of the positive press today's vote will get around the nation. Plus we get almost two full years to get those extra votes.