As a number of New Jersey jurisdictions began accepting gay couples’ applications for marriage licences following a judge’s ruling, the state’s new senator-elect has indicated he will officiate at same-sex weddings beginning just after midnight on Oct 21, BuzzFeed reports.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who just wrapped up a succesful bid to become senator, will marry at least 10 couples in the Newark City Hall rotunda, even as the New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of Judge Mary Jacobson’s decision to deny a stay of her ruling allowing gay marriages to proceed, the report notes.
Governor Chris Christie’s administration filed the appeal.
The absence of a stay means that officials in Asbury Park, New Jersey City and Red Bank can process requested licences. One Asbury official says the decision to proceed is “not an act of civil disobedience,” but the jurisdiction’s understanding of what they are allowed to do under the law as it currently stands.
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