NJ Mayor Says He’ll Marry Same-Sex Couples
The mayor of a New Jersey town said he will marry a same-sex couple on Oct. 21, after a judge ruled that gay marriage must be legalized, Bloomberg reports.
Democratic Mayor David DelVecchio, of Lambertville, NJ, (which is about 16 miles north of Trenton) performed one of the state's first civil union ceremonies (in 2007) and now says he wants to officiate New Jersey's first official gay marriage for Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey.
While DelVecchio is willing to perform the marriage, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he will appeal the decision before any change of law goes into effect.
"This is just a continuation of the first civil union," DelVecchio, 56, told Bloomberg. "If a stay is not granted on the 21st, we're going to move forward with this."
Last week Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled in Trenton that gay marriage must be allowed, citing the Supreme Court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this year.
"Since the legislature refused to allow the people to decide expeditiously, we will let the Supreme Court make this constitutional determination," Christie's spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said in a statement on Sept. 27.
According to Bloomberg, a number of same-sex couples from Lambertville, which has a large gay population, have expressed the interest of marrying.
Christie has not yet filed his appeal.