Update: NJ Judiciary Committee clears gay marriage bill : 7-6

During the marathon hearing, opponents including Orthodox Jews and Catholic officials argued that same-sex marriage would damage religious freedom and is not needed because the state already permits civil unions. Supporters, inclucing civil rights leaders and legal experts, said gay couples do not have equal rights without being allowed to marry.

"Like race, our sexuality isn’t a preference," said Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who traveled from Washington, D.C., to testify. "It’s immutable, unchangeable and the Constitution protects us all from discrimination."

Josh Pruzanzsky, executive director of the Agudath of Israel of New Jersey, said same-sex marriage legislation "would endanger religious freedom, inhibit free speech and undermine the preferred status of marriage. It would convey a social message that is deeply offensive to many residents of the state of New Jersey and lead to further erosions in the traditional conception of family."

Senators added an amdendment, proposed by Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Mercer), clarifying that clergy members are not required to marry same-sex couples if it conflicts with their relgious beliefs.

The hearing was sometimes heated and often emotional as teary-eyed families pleaded with the committee to approve same-sex marriage. One New Jersey mother asked lawmakers opposing the bill to tell her gay son that, "He can’t get married. He’s not good enough.