Gov. Chris Christie announced this morning he is dropping the appeal of a lower court's ruling that paved the way for marriage equality to begin last night in New Jersey.
"At long last, the freedom to marry is now permanently law of the land in New Jersey," said Freedom to Marry founder and president Evan Wolfson in a prepared statement.
New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie took heat last week for suggesting that the voters of New Jersey be allowed, by ballot referendum, to decide whether the state should allow same-sex couples to marry. Marriage supporters in the state vowed to press on through the state's legislature, despite a promised veto from first-term Republican Gov. Christie.
“If a majority of people want it, prove it,” Christie was reported as saying. “Let them vote on it. They’ll get in the privacy of the voting booth and make their choice.”
The statement outraged the state's legislative leaders, who called a press conference to respond to Christie's idea.
Georgia's U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga. 5), an ardent supporter of LGBT rights, recently attended the press conference meant to criticize Christie over his suggestion that the marriage equality issue be put to the voters as a referendum rather than through the state's legislature.