For NJ Gays, changing of the guard is a decisive moment

For gay couples in New Jersey, and the millions of people who want to see them achieve full equality under the law, the moment has finally arrived.

Within the next several weeks, probably in early December, the Legislature will take up the question of gay marriage.

This will be high political drama. Because while most Democrats support marriage equality, they do not have nearly enough votes to pass it on their own. They need Republican support if the measure is to have any chance.

And that means Chris Christie, the Republican governor-elect, is about to make his first really important decision.

He opposes gay marriage and said during the campaign he would use his veto power as governor to block it.

But will he try to intervene now, before he takes office, by pressing his fellow Republicans to oppose marriage equality? His decision will tell us a great deal about his priorites as governor.

Because if Christie jumps into this debate, he will pay a price. He will drive a wedge between himself and the Democratic leadership of the Legislature even before he swears his oath. He will anger the many voters who support gay marriage with passion.

And perhaps most important, he will ensure that this debate continues into his term, distracting attention from the crushing agenda he faces during this economic crisis. After basing his campaign on jobs and taxes, he will have opened a second front over a social issue.

Those are the political calculations. The deeper question goes to the merits of marriage equality.

During the campaign, Christie never articulated a forceful argument against it. He didn’t invoke God’s will, or label homosexuality as deviant. He said simply that he felt in his gut that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He even tried to think of it differently, he said, and it just didn’t fit.

That’s understandable, of course. This would be a giant change. Millions of reasonable people share his discomfort.