A prominent LGBTQ activist is reportedly among those under consideration for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.)’s Senate seat once he resigns next month.

Newsweek on Tuesday reported Garden State Equality Executive Director Christian Fuscarino is among those who New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy could potentially appoint to Menendez’s seat.

A federal jury on July 16 convicted Menendez of corruption charges. The New Jersey Democrat on Tuesday announced he will resign from the U.S. Senate on Aug. 20. 

Newsweek described Fuscarino, who has been Garden State Equality’s executive director since 2016, as “a staunch supporter of Murphy” who could become the country’s first openly gay U.S. senator. The article further notes Murphy “has shown a penchant for making historic appointments, which adds weight to Fuscarino’s candidacy.”

Fuscarino on Thursday in a statement to the Washington Blade said he was “taken by surprise” when he learned he is under consideration for Menendez’s seat.

“I understand how significant becoming our nation’s first openly queer male U.S. senator would be, and I am humbled to even be suggested,” said Fuscarino.

“All that I am is because of the queer and trans movement, having started community organizing under the mentorship of Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN and current leader of Lambda Legal, when I was just 14 years old,” he added. “It was the stories shared at gay bars, HIV/AIDS advocates, and Pride organizers who guided me over the last two decades, energizing communities to fight for lived equality. It is because of this movement and all those who sacrificed more so that one day a queer man would even be considered for U.S. senate.”

Newsweek reported New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim, state Sen. Vin Gopal, Attorney General Matt Platkin, former state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Jeannine LaRue, and New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission Chair Dianna Houenou are among those who Murphy is also considering for Menendez’s seat.

The person who Murphy appoints would serve the remainder of Menendez’s term, which ends in January.   

Fuscarino on Tuesday said Menendez “made the right decision in stepping down.” 

His statement notes Republicans have nominated Curtis Bashaw, who is gay, to run for Menendez’s seat. Kim last month won the Democratic primary for the race.

“Republicans have nominated a candidate who has pledged allegiance to the vulgarities that define former president Trump,” said Fuscarino on Tuesday. “Make no mistake that Republican candidate — while he would be the first openly gay male senator in U.S. history — would represent a false sense of diversity.”

“I have no doubt that Gov. Phil Murphy will appoint a new senator — whose value system seeks to unify all communities — with established credentials in advancing true diversity, equity, and inclusion for all,” he added.

Fuscarino told the Blade that “while I would accept this appointment, this is exactly that — an appointment, not a campaign or an election.” 

“As I wrote in a statement earlier this week, I have complete confidence Gov. Phil Murphy will select the most qualified individual for this temporary role,” he said. “This decision rests entirely with him and there are a lot of factors to consider.”

The Blade has reached out to Murphy’s office for comment.

BY: Nikita Biryukov | TRENTON, N.J. – An Assembly panel advanced a bill that would create a new, more uniform process for the removal of library books in a near-unanimous vote following nearly four hours of testimony Thursday.

The bill, which the Assembly Education Committee approved in a 7-1 vote with the no vote from Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R-Sussex) and an abstention from Assemblyman Erik Simonsen (R-Cape May), would require local districts to adopt discrete policies on library curation and removing books from school libraries while barring districts from granting requests that seek to remove books a filer believed were offensive but not age-inappropriate.

“Parents will continue to have the right to decide what their own child reads, but one parent should not have the ability to solely determine what another parent’s child reads,” said bill sponsor Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis (D-Hunterdon).

The bill’s authors have dubbed it the “Freedom to Read Act.”

The bill would require local districts to create written policies on library curation that bar book removals made on the basis of its authors’ backgrounds, origins, or views and require librarians to periodically review their collections for relevance and recency, among other things.

It would require local school boards to reject book removal requests filed by those without a connection to the district — someone other than a teacher, parent, or student there — and mandate district superintendents to convene boards to adjudicate requests for removal.

“Out-of-state individuals and organizations will no longer be able to ride into New Jersey with a political agenda and target our public libraries,” Drulis said.

Those committees must include the superintendent, school principal, a board representative, a grade-appropriate teacher, a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the district, and a student, in some cases.

Individuals who filed the request for removal cannot sit on such a committee, and the superintendent may appoint additional members if they see fit.

The bill is a response to recent pushes by religious and anti-LGBT groups to remove books with themes or content related to sex and gender, among others.

“During the school day, parents are not present to give their consent and support their children who may view this material,” said Hilary Jersey, a co-leader with NJStandsUp, an anti-vaccine group. “Age-inappropriate content isn’t just in the school libraries. My seventh grader just shared that she read a school-supplied book about a 13-year-old who was pregnant.”

The final decision on book removals would remain with school boards under the bill, and the committees it requires must make their non-binding recommendations within 60 days of their next meeting.

The bill would require school boards to explain their decision when either removing a book or going against the recommendations of a committee, and books that survive a challenge would be immune from further challenges for one year.

The Department of Education would be required to draft a model policy on library curation, and the state librarian must draft a model policy on the adjudication of book removal requests.

The bill advanced Thursday was narrower than past versions of the legislation. It would no longer amend the state’s obscenity statute to add protections for librarians and teachers; instead it would immunize librarians who make good-faith efforts to comply with the bill’s provisions on curation and book removal.

Separate language that would have allowed librarians to lodge civil suits for protective orders against harassers was also removed by amendments, as was language that would have amended the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination to bar employers from considering a librarian’s actions on a given book removal request in hiring decisions.

Those changes softened some opposition but did little to turn its opponents into supporters.

“I’m grateful for that the freedom to read is more now like the freedom to remove, and I’m sure many school boards are going to remove many of these books that parents have been challenging for months and for years,” said Shawn Hyland, director of advocacy for the New Jersey Family Policy Center, which previously opposed the bill but was neutral Thursday.

The measure has yet to move in the Senate and must be approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee before it sees a full vote on the chamber’s floor.

******************************************************************************************

Nikita Biryukov is an award-winning reporter who covers state government and politics for the New Jersey Monitor, with a focus on fiscal issues and voting. He has reported from the capitol since 2018 and joined the Monitor at its launch in 2021. The Rutgers University graduate previously covered state government and politics for the New Jersey Globe. Before then he covered local government in New Brunswick as a freelancer for the Home News Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].

******************************************************************************************

The preceding article was previously published by The New Jersey Monitor and is republished with permission.

New Jersey Monitor provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May.

New Jersey Monitor, PO Box 6843, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz | ASBURY PARK, N.J. – The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and Garden State Equality sent letters to 16 school districts across New Jersey this week urging them to reinstate a policy they say protects transgender youth. 

The groups say without this policy — known as policy 5756 — not only are districts open to legal liability, but students and families may believe their schools are not safe and welcoming environments. The policy outlines responsibilities districts have to protect LGBTQ students under state and federal law. 

“School administrators must do everything they can to protect trans kids. As LGBTQ+ rights face renewed threats across the country, New Jersey has a responsibility to lead by example and ensure that students in our state feel safe, supported, and respected,” ACLU-NJ staff attorney Elyla Huertas said in a statement.

The policy, which is not mandatory, says school officials should have open but confidential discussions with their transgender students to ascertain the students’ preferences on their chosen names, pronouns, and parental communications. It was introduced in 2018 after a law signed by then-Gov. Chris Christie directed state education officials to create a policy regarding transgender students.

It came under fire last year when state Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office filed civil rights complaints against four school districts that sought to implement policies requiring school officials to tell parents about the sexual orientation and gender identity of LGBTQ students. Platkin critics said his office was improperly trampling on their rights to know personal details about their children. After state officials conceded during those court fights that policy 5756 was not mandatory, a handful of school districts repealed it.   

“At a time when we are seeing attacks against LGBTQ+ students proliferate throughout the state and country, showing your students that you are protecting them is crucial for their ability to feel safe, supported, and respected in the school environment,” the letter states.

Sparta is among the school districts that received the letter. Its school board president, Kurt Morris, told the New Jersey Monitor that the ACLU-NJ’s concerns are “unfounded” because the district readopted the policy at its December 2023 meeting. Officials from other districts did not respond to requests for comment. 

A letter also went to Union Township’s schools. The district’s board president, Cortney Dominianni-Smith, said school officials there agree with the ACLU that transgender students, like all students, should be treated respectfully and in a nondiscriminatory manner.

“The District has numerous policies protecting the rights of all students, including transgender students and guaranteeing them equal access to all programs and opportunities in the Union Township Schools,” she said.

Studies show that LGBTQ+ youth face higher rates of bullying and harassment at school, and are more likely to be alienated from their families or communities. LGBTQ+ children are more likely to experience housing instability, and are four times more likely to attempt suicide compared to their straight and cisgender peers.

“All of the data show affirming schools are a lifeline for LGBTQ+ students,” said Lauren Albrecht, Garden State Equality’s director of advocacy and organizing. “So when schools don’t know — or outright reject research-backed, educator-approved, and, until recently, uncontroversial guidelines for — how to meet the well-documented needs of these students, it isn’t hyperbole to say lives are at risk.”

******************************************************************************************

Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, a New Jersey native and former Trenton statehouse reporter for NJ.com, shined a spotlight on the state’s crumbling unemployment system and won several awards for investigative reporting from the New Jersey Press Association. She was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for her report on PetSmart’s grooming practices, which was also recognized by the New York Press Club. Sophie speaks Spanish and is proud to connect to the Latinx community through her reporting.

******************************************************************************************

The preceding article was previously published by the New Jersey Monitor and is republished with permission.

New Jersey Monitor provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May.

New Jersey Monitor, PO Box 6843, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

PRINCETON, N.J. – A drag queen story hour at the Bayard Rustin Center For Social Justice located in central Princeton, just off the campus of Princeton University, was disrupted after police received a bomb threat communicated via an email.

Sarah Salvadore, a field editor for the local Patch reported:

Around 10:49 a.m., the Princeton Police Department received an email from an unknown person containing derogatory remarks aimed at LGBTQIA members and those affiliated with the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ), police said.

Officers were immediately dispatched to the building and the occupants were evacuated. A canine sweep of the building and surrounding area was completed, and no explosive devices were found, police said.

Around 12:40 p.m., the occupants were allowed back into the building.

The police issued a statement on August 28: “On Saturday, August 26, at 10:49 a.m., the Princeton Police Department received an e-mail communication from an unknown author. The e-mail contained derogatory remarks aimed at LGBTQIA members and those affiliated with the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice. Additionally, the author stated numerous explosive devices were placed in and around the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice.

“Police officers were dispatched to the building and the occupants were immediately evacuated. A canine sweep of the building and surrounding area was completed, and no explosive devices were found. At about 12:40 p.m., the occupants were allowed back into the building.

“The Detective Bureau is conducting a follow-up investigation into the case. When more information is available, an additional press release will be issued.”

Reacting to the threat, Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber, founder of the Bayard Rustin Center said in a statement:

“The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice is founded on the very principle of building family through community as our queer ancestors have always done. The safe-space we offer to our LGBTQIA youth, intersectional families, & all our beautifully diverse folx is not only a physical entity but indeed something we carry within our hearts & our souls. These despicable actions threatened, this dishonest bigoted rhetoric espoused, this abhorrent hate will only ever be answered by a stronger, braver, & more empowering message of love.

This darkness will always & ever be dispelled by the light of us gathering together, more resilient & more stalwart in strength & solidarity. This principle was put into direct & robust action today as this bomb threat might’ve kept us from our BRCSJ HQ but did not stop us from gathering together in Beloved Community & in family, chosen & otherwise,” Seda-Schreiber said.

“We simply took a fabulous field trip down the block to a nearby stoop & shared our stories, created community, & embraced each other, both literally & figuratively, with great respect & even more LOVE! We want to thank all the family & community members who showed up & glowed up today, our Drag Queen Carrie Dragshaw, whose lack of wig was made up by far more spirit, & the Princeton Police Department who were kind & considerate as they did their due diligence to keep us all safe,” Seda-Schreiber added.

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz | TRENTON – While other states pass bans on transgender health care, New Jersey will be a “safe haven” for those seeking gender-affirming care, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.

Murphy signed an executive order Tuesday directing all state departments and agencies to protect those providing or receiving gender-affirming health care services. Under the order, state officials will be barred from cooperating in other states’ investigations into whether someone sought the care in New Jersey, and extradition to other states in those instances will be prohibited.

“Across the nation, we are witnessing attacks led by certain states that seek to undermine the equality, dignity, and safety of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially transgender and nonbinary youth,” Murphy said in a statement. “As leaders, our greatest responsibility is ensuring that every person we represent, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, is entitled to respect, fairness, and freedom.”

New Jersey is estimated to be home to more than 30,000 transgender and nonbinary residents, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA.

Murphy, a second-term Democrat who is rumored to be eyeing a presidential run, is pushing to make the Garden State a transgender refuge as nearly a dozen other states advance policies and laws to limit care for transgender and nonbinary people.

At least four states have banned gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, and more than 110 pieces of legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights or attacking transgender youth have been introduced in state legislatures around the country, according to data from the ACLU.

In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has been attacking transgender residents by asking public colleges to share statistics around students who have been treated for gender dysphoria and banning medical services for transgender minors, In an interview with Insider published Monday, Murphy criticized DeSantis’ policies specifically.

Medical experts say denying gender-affirming care is not only discriminatory but contributes to higher rates of suicide.

Murphy’s executive order came shortly after the state commemorated International Transgender Day of Visibility with a new website providing information for transgender residents. The site will act as a centralized hub touting programs and services to support transgender and nonbinary people. It includes information like how to change your name and where to find legal help.

The site is paid for by federal COVID-19 relief money, which spurred an outcry from Ocean County Republicans. They blasted the governor for using the pandemic funds while other “critical needs” go ignored.

“He could have helped struggling businesses, prevented cuts to our schools, or fixed the broken unemployment system, but building a transgender website was his priority. It’s ridiculous,” said Sen. James Holzapfel.

*******************************************************************************

Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, a New Jersey native and former Trenton statehouse reporter for NJ.com, shined a spotlight on the state’s crumbling unemployment system and won several awards for investigative reporting from the New Jersey Press Association.

Sophie speaks Spanish and is proud to connect to the Latinx community through her reporting.

***************************************************************

The preceding piece was previously published by the New Jersey Monitor and is republished with permission.

New Jersey Monitor provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May.

CEDAR GROVE, Nj. – The Cedar Grove Public Schools District reversed its decision to cancel a ‘High School Edition’ of ‘The Prom’ after intense backlash from LGBTQ+ students, their families.

Actor Josh Lamon, who starred “The Prom” when it ran on Broadway, who posted on his Instagram page; “This is infuriating and deeply homophobic. There is nothing inappropriate in or about the show.”

“The Prom,” is a Tony-nominated 2016 musical about a lesbian student who wants to bring her girlfriend to her school prom based on a federal lawsuit against the Itawamba County School District in Fulton, Mississippi brought by Constance McMillen, an Out lesbian senior was who banned from bringing her girlfriend to senior prom in 2011 and also from wearing a tuxedo.

McMillen and the ACLU sued and a federal court found the district guilty of violating McMillen’s First Amendment rights.

Cedar Grove High School and district officials initially canceled the production due to “inappropriate” content.

But, after a social media campaign led by Bec Alt, a guidance counselor at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Upper West Side of New York City, in addition to the local outcry, the Cedar Grove Public Schools District backed off.

According to the Star Ledger/NJ.com, the district’s superintendent said Friday the school will stage a “High School Edition” of the play that has been modified by its creators for family audiences.

“After further inquiry with the licensing organization, we were informed that a High School Edition of ‘The Prom’ just became available. Therefore, Cedar Grove Public Schools fully supports producing the High School Edition of the musical ‘The Prom,’ which was not previously available at the time of licensing,” said Cedar Grove Superintendent Anthony Grosso.

“When a production is in the process of being produced at the high school level, shows that were meant for Broadway may have language in the script of songs that could be inappropriate to our younger audience or other members of the community,” Grosso wrote in an email sent to a concerned community member reported the Star Ledger/NJ.com.

“Therefore, a Jr. version of a play would need to be produced to accommodate our potential audience,” Grosso said. “Cedar Grove Public Schools fully supports producing the Jr. version of the musical, allowing our students to continue to produce the show at a level that allows our students to express their creativity through the art of performance.”

TRENTON – New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday ordered the state’s Department of Education to review LGBTQ-inclusive sex education standards set to start in the fall amid conservative attacks over the policy. 

In a release, Murphy announced he directed the education department “to review the standards and provide further clarification on what age-appropriate guidelines look like for our students.” 

The order came as conservatives ramp up attacks on the standards, with some saying it’s “psychological torture” and “predatory grooming.” 

The standards, adopted by the New Jersey Board of Education in 2020, outline what the sex education curriculum will look like in the state come next school year. 

Under the curriculum, second grade kids will discuss gender expression; fifth graders will know the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity; and eigth grade students will learn to promote “dignity and respect” for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

The policy also includes education standards around physical and mental health, safety and substance abuse consequences. It was modeled on proposed national standards developed by leading health education groups.

In his statement, Murphy referenced the right-wing attacks on the curriculum – which have ramped up in recent weeks with the release of sample resources for educators – saying that the “learning standards have been intentionally misrepresented by some politicians seeking to divide and score political points.” Though the resources reference pornography and masturbation, those topics are not included in the standards.

“We have seen a handful of sample lesson plans being circulated that have not been adopted in our school districts and do not accurately reflect the spirit of the standards,” Murphy said. “Any proposed educational content that is not age-appropriate should be immediately revised by local officials.”

Liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America recently reported that attacks on the curriculum caught the eyes of Fox News pundits, who used a sample lesson plan to falsely claim that students would be required to learn about gender identity by the end of second grade. Others have also made anti-Trans remarks, according to the Media Matters. 

As a guest on Fox News, Washington Times opinion editor Charlie Hurt said that gender-identity education “goes beyond just predatory grooming. This goes to the point of really psychological torture of children.”

In addition, state Senate Republicans Monday called on Murphy and Senate President Nicholas Scutari to halt the implementation of the standards and hold public hearings. They cited the “rapidly growing” number of parents who are “extremely concerned” over the policy “that they believe are inappropriate for their children or in conflict with their values.”

“We should empower parents, not ignore them,” read the letter. 

But Murphy ensured that the curriculum was crafted with care and is age-appropriate. 

“At a time when we must prioritize student mental health and academic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is paramount that our standards also promote inclusivity and respect for every child, including LGBTQ youth,” he added. 

Bills limiting how LGBTQ+ issues can be taught to children in schools have enthralled Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the country. 

Late last month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, which will ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and allow parents to sue schools or teachers. Shortly after being signed, Equality Florida and Family Equality announced a lawsuit against the law.
Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a bill with a last-minute amendment to keep educators from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms.

PASSAIC, Nj. – Students in this suburban Newark, New Jersey city in the metropolitan Tri-State area of New York City walked out of classes from three schools Monday, protesting a new school board policy that bans the LGBTQ pride flag and most other flags from being flown outside schools.

Students from, Passaic PREP, Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering and Passaic High School, numbering less than a hundred according to , left classes and waving mini-Pride flags. “Walk out! Walk out!” the demonstrators chanted. Many of their classmates stood at windows, offering a thumbs up, but only a handful joined the march, the NJ.COM/The Star Ledger reported.

The students, some wrapped blanket-style in full-size Pride and Trans flags, made their way to City Hall and the board of education building downtown. “Raise our flag! Raise our flag!” the students chanted, as Passaic police and school security provided an escort to ensure safety, the NJ.COM/The Star Ledger reported.

“We’re not going to stop until we get what we want,” said Amari Gawthney, who grabbed a bullhorn and led the demonstrators on the march to City Hall. “We put up the flag last year with no problem. Then this new policy came from out of the blue, and they pushed it under the rug, actually.”

The Passaic Board of Education trustees had initiated the new after board members discovered there was no policy on flag raising at the schools. According to NJ.COM/The Star Ledger Passaic students hoisted the rainbow flag on school grounds for the first time last June to celebrate Pride month, New Jersey’s recognition of LGBTQ+ people and the struggle for equality.

There was no policy in place when the Pride flag went up last year, and some people in Passaic made what board vice chairman L. Daniel Rodriguez termed “inquiries” as to who authorized it.

Board members say their actions was done in the spirit of fairness after the “inquiries” which the LGBTQ+ students and their allies say is discriminatory.

“They disrespected us as a community,” said Jaylie Barrett, a senior at Passaic PREP. “Why did they change the policy? They won’t tell us why.”

At a board meeting on Monday after the student led protest, Board members listened but made no commitment. School Board President Christina Schratz told the audience that trustees “will continue the conversation about the policy.”

“I’m all for seeing what we can do as a district,” she said. “I am very grateful that they express their concerns. This is the way democracy works.”

TRENTON – Both Houses of New Jersey’s legislature passed a bill (A5367) Monday that would protect the rights of same-sex couples in the state to be able to marry in the wake of fears raised that the current conservative U.S. Supreme Court could potentially reverse its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644.

The Newark-based Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest online newspaper, reported last week that the landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was perceived by state lawmakers to be in danger as a result of the High Court’s potentially getting rid of a decades-old precedence that gives women access to abortions.

Some legal experts have pointed out that the ruling in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade granting access to abortion has also been foundational as case law precedence for civil rights cases such as Obergefell.

The Star-Ledger reported that the state Senate voted 35-4 on Monday afternoon. The Assembly passed it by a 53 to-10 vote with four abstentions at 11:14 p.m. Monday, near the end of what was shaping up to be a 10-hour voting session.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to sign it into law.

Same-sex couples have been able to marry in the state since October 2013, when the state Supreme Court declined to hear a lower court ruling that said a ban on same-sex marriage violated the equal protection guarantee of the state’s constitution.

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, told the Star-Ledger “devoted same-sex couples all across New Jersey are raising families as contributing members of their communities.”

“We fought to correct the injustice that denied these rights for too many loving couples for far too long,” Weinberg added. “We don’t want to see those rights lost to an arch-conservative agenda of recent Supreme Court appointees.”

TRENTON – A bill introduced this past February that codifies same-sex marriage into state statutes was advanced out of the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee Thursday on a 4-0 vote. New Jersey Assembly Bill 5367  reads in part “laws concerning marriage and civil union shall be read with gender neutral intent.”

Assemblymember Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), the committee chair, told Politico; “The statutes of our state have never caught up to the court decisions […] which no longer treated same-sex couples as second class citizens. So it’s important that we take this step and ensure that our law enshrines these rights.”

The legislation’s author, Somerset lawyer Bill Singer testified to the committee noting; “Since that decision, [Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644] at least two or three of the present justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have questioned that decision and called for its reversal, where does that leave same sex couples in New Jersey? Their right to marry hangs from the slender thread of a single decision by a trial court judge. That’s precarious.”

Alarms bells about a reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, were sounded by some LGBTQ+ legal groups after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case brought by the state of Mississippi defending its law banning abortion after 15 weeks, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler, appearing on NPR’s ‘Heard on All Things Considered,’ told host Mary Louise Kelly that there was a basis for concern on whether the court would actually overrule its precedents in other cases based on the questions and statements raised during the hearing by the conservative members of the court.

Asked by Kelly if she saw a legal door opening Ziegler affirmed that she did. Kelly then asked her; “Them taking up cases to do with that. What about same-sex marriage?”

Ziegler answered, “Yeah, same-sex marriage is definitely a candidate. Justices Alito and Thomas have in passing mentioned in dicta that they think it might be worth revisiting Obergefell v. Hodges – the same-sex marriage decision.

“And I think it’s fair to say that in the sort of panoply of culture war issues, that rights for same-sex couples and sexual orientation are still among the most contested, even though certainly same-sex marriage is more subtle than it was and than abortion was.

I think that certainly the sort of balance between LGBTIQ rights and religious liberty writ large is a very much alive issue, and I think some states may try to test the boundaries with Obergefell, particularly knowing that they have a few justices potentially willing to go there with them.”

Politico reported that an earlier bill to legalise same-sex marriage had stated no religious group or institution “shall be compelled to provide space, services, advantages, goods, or privileges related to” marriage that is in violation of their beliefs and indemnified them from lawsuits. The Senate pulled the bill and has not acted on it since.

The bill that advanced Thursday does not include any religious exemptions, effectively leaving it up to courts.

One of those opposed to the law is a self-labeled ‘ex-gay’ conservative Christian pastor Gregory Quinlan who testified against the law before the committee.

“No one is born gay. The science is zero. And so for that reason there is no justification to codify homosexual marriage or any of the sundry identities that have been put out over the last number of years,” Quinlan said.

That brought a sharp rebuke from the committee chair who said; “I think your comments are three fries short of a Happy Meal.”

“Why would you be so hateful towards my comments?” Quinlan said.

“I respect your right to speak but I find your comments to be abhorrent and hateful,” Mukherji shot back.

The New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney publicly stated that he would like to see a quick vote in the lower house and that he would like to pass the bill in the upper house on Dec. 20.

Sweeney told Politico he became alarmed after it became clear to him that the U.S. Supreme Court would likely “gut” Roe v. Wade, declaring, “If they can do that, same-sex marriage can be the next thing.”

Shannon Minter, the Legal Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a national LGBTQ+ legal organization which represented three same-sex couples from Tennessee, whose case was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court along with Obergefell and two other cases is urging caution in how people interpret the Mississippi oral arguments and remarks made by the justices.

“We should be cautious about taking the bait from anti-LGBTQ groups who falsely argue that if the Supreme Court reverses or undermines Roe v. Wade, they are likely to reverse or undermine Obergefell or Lawrence. In fact, that is highly unlikely, as the argument in Dobbs itself showed,” he said.

“The only reason Justice Kavanaugh mentioned Obergefell and Lawrence, along with Brown v. Board of Education, was to cite them as examples of cases in which the Supreme Court clearly did the right thing.  All of those decisions rely at least as strongly on equal protection as on fundamental rights, and even this extremely conservative supreme court has not questioned the foundational role of equal protection in our nation’s constitutional law,” Minter stressed.

New Jersey’s lawmakers are more sanguine in their assessment but want to make certain that the state’s same-sex couples are protected in law just in case an Assemblymember told the Blade on background.