Today, the New Jersey State Senate rejected legislation that would grant same-sex couples the right to be legally married.

People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement:

“Today’s vote is a disappointment for everyone who cares about equality. It’s wrong to deny the legal protections of marriage to committed gay couples, and I’m sorry that some New Jersey couples will still be denied the protections that only marriage can afford. That’s not the American Way.

“This legislation would have allowed same-sex couples, at long last, to receive equal treatment under the law, as well as preserved the religious liberty of all New Jersey citizens. Churches will always have the freedom to choose which marriages they bless and clergy will always have the freedom to preach as they please. This legislation would have done nothing to change that.

“But this vote is not the end of the campaign for equal rights in New Jersey. The activists in New Jersey who have worked for decades on this issue should be commended for bringing the issue so far, and I am confident that victory for equal rights for all isn’t far away.”

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