New Jersey became today the 14th state to allow gay marriage, making the entire Northeast ten of the 14 states that permit it.
All of the New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island), along with the Mid Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, now have same sex marriage.
Additionally, Iowa and Minnesota in the Midwest have it, as well as Washington State and California on the Pacific Coast.
Waiting in the wings are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois in the Midwest (in different stages of the struggle for acceptance), and Colorado, Oregon and Hawaii in the West, making a likelihood of 21 states within the next year or two, which will have allowed such marriages.
This will mean about 155 million Americans will be living in states that permit same sex marriage by the end of 2014 or early 2015, nearly half the population of the nation, including also Washington, DC and New York City as municipalities which allow it.
There will still be vehement opposition to the concept of same sex marriage, but the reality is that it is here to stay for good, and will continue to spread nationwide over time.
I think my home state Michigan will deliver at some point during the first half of 2014. Incumbent Republican Rick Snyder wants to win re-election as 48th Governor of Michigan, and I don’t think he wants this weighing on his campaign any more than New Jersey Gov. and fellow Republican Chris Christie. In this area of the country, the Republicans will still do the party-line shtick (as is the case with Mich. Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette), but ultimately they care about their electoral power but not about the issue of marriage equality.