Looks like a gay marriage bill may come up for a vote in New Jersey:

A petition in New Jersey signed by more than 2,300 Democratic officials, advocates and residents has helped sway members of the State Senate Judiciary Committee to call for a vote on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

But the bill has a long way to go, and recent votes against same-sex marriage in a Maine referendum and in the New York State Senate led opponents of the New Jersey measure to say that the political tide had turned against it.

Still, Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, a Democrat from Union County, said the petition, circulated by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal political advocacy group, produced a strong “momentum change” for the bill after it had appeared to be stalled in recent weeks. Many prominent officials signed the petition, including Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark; Ronald K. Chen, the state’s public advocate; and J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, director of the state’s Division on Civil Rights.

First, a huge congrats to the PCCC for pushing this issue. I’m glad to see things are moving forward on this front.

Now, will the vote succeed? It’s hard to say.

There have been recent setbacks – Maine and New York – and the vote is occuring during the lame-duck session before Governor Corzine is replaced by Governor-elect Christie. Another loss would be tough, but it is, on the balence, still probably worth the vote. It’s important that this issue stay at the forefront of people’s minds, and it’s important to lay the groundwork for future victories, which will probably be judicial as opposed to legislative or electoral.

So move forward, New Jersey, with all speed! One day, this country will indeed grant basic civil rights to all of its people.