Expert Comment on Same-Sex Marriage in New Jersey

from the University of Pennsylvania Law School

Feb. 15, 2006

Nathaniel Persily, professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, researches, teaches and writes about constitutional law and contemporary issues in law and politics

" Over the last three years, since the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas and the Massachusetts court's decision on same-sex marriage, a substantial majority of Americans have become more favorable to the idea of legally recognized relationships falling short of marriage.  The question, from a public-opinion standpoint, is whether a similar move in New Jersey would produce the short-term backlash that we witnessed from the other two decisions or whether the pro-gay rights trajectory of American and New Jersey public opinion is immune to further judicial action."

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