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UPDATE: N.J. Gov. Christie Won't Fight Gay-Marriage Ruling

The hands of Beth Asaro, left, and Joanne Schailey after they exchanged vows to become the first same-sex couple married in Lambertville, N.J., early Monday.
Rich Schultz
/
AP
The hands of Beth Asaro, left, and Joanne Schailey after they exchanged vows to become the first same-sex couple married in Lambertville, N.J., early Monday.

"Gov. Chris Christie announced today that he was dropping the fight against same-sex marriage in New Jersey by withdrawing his appeal of a major case that was being heard by the state Supreme Court," The Star-Ledger writes.

Christie's office has released a copy if its court filing, in which it officially withdraws its appeal.

So it would seem that same-sex marriages, which began early Monday in the state thanks to a court ruling issued Friday, will continue.

Colin Reed, a spokesman for the Republican governor, tells the Star-Ledger that "although the governor strongly disagrees with the court substituting its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a vote of the people, the court has now spoken clearly as to their view of the New Jersey Constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the law. The governor will do his constitutional duty and ensure his administration enforces the law as dictated by the New Jersey Supreme Court."

Our original post — "Tears Of Joy As Same-Sex Marriages Begin In New Jersey":

Minutes after midnight, as Sunday turned into Monday, gay couples in towns and cities across New Jersey said their "I do's" as the state became the 14th to allow same-sex marriages.

The legal path was cleared for them Friday, as we reported, when the state's Supreme Court rejected a request to halt such ceremonies.

In Newark early Monday, Mayor Cory Booker (a Democrat who last week won a special election for the U.S. Senate) declared "it is officially past midnight, [and] marriage is equal in New Jersey," as he began a series of ceremonies in city hall.

According to The Star-Ledger:

"At one point, the event took a particularly emotional turn. As Booker married Gabriela Celeiro and Liz Salerno, the two held each other and got teary.

" 'There's some law about making a mayor cry, ' he joked. 'It's illegal.'

"He later said he had to collect himself before marrying the next couple."

There was at least one demonstrator at Newark's city hall. The Associated Press says "there was a brief disruption from a protester who cried out, 'This is unlawful in the eyes of God and Jesus Christ.' "

According to the Star-Ledger, police removed the man. Then there was applause when Booker resumed the ceremony by saying: "not hearing any substantive and worthy objections ..."

The New York Times writes that "in Lambertville, N.J., the marriage certificate of Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey allowed only for a 'bride' and a 'groom,' so Ms. Asaro — in a pink suit — was listed as the groom, and Ms. Schailey — in a black suit — as the bride. ... So it went on Sunday night in towns across New Jersey, where a judge's ruling that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry went into effect just after midnight on Monday, capping a weekend-long frenzy of flower-arranging, Champagne-spraying, hair-styling, ring-buying and cake-baking. "

The Times says "hundreds of people ... rushed to make wedding arrangements over the weekend."

For an explainer on "gay marriage in New Jersey," click here.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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