State lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill codifying a person’s right to marry or enter into a civil union with someone of any race. The Assembly’s Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the bill to go on for a full Assembly vote. The legislation comes amid concerns the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the interracial marriage right established some 56 years ago, after the court’s Roe v. Wade decision last summer overturning abortion rights left the door open to similar challenges. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), argued the state needs to take a similar stance on interracial marriage like it did to enshrine reproductive rights and access to contraception, though critics say the legislation is raising an issue where one doesn’t yet exist.
