c. 2006 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The New Jersey Supreme Court ruling protecting the rights of same-sex couples is likely to energize the religious right, but not enough to have a significant impact on the national debate over a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, experts said.

“The ruling puts some wind back in the sails of social conservatives and will likely reinvigorate their drive for a national solution,” said David Masci, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

But Masci noted that the Republican-controlled House and Senate fell far short in efforts to approve a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage this summer. If Democrats pick up seats in next month’s election, chances of passage will become even more remote, he said.

Recent national polls by Pew have found a consistent majority of about 60 percent opposed to same-sex marriage. But the most recent Pew poll also showed about 60 percent oppose a constitutional amendment to ban it.

Tom McClusky, a vice president of the conservative Family Research Council,said that in the short term the New Jersey ruling will “motivate the social conservative base” in the eight states that vote next month on banning same-sex marriage. The states are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.

But McClusky said chances of Congress’ approving a constitutional amendment are not promising.

University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said the New Jersey court decision will put the largely dormant gay marriage issue back on the campaign trail and could hurt Democrats “in moderate and conservative congressional districts where they have been doing well this year.”

“This is manna from heaven for Republicans,” Sabato said. “It puts a social issue that really helps Republicans at the top of the agenda in the final days of the election. Republicans must have prayed for this.”

Sabato said that with their ruling, the New Jersey justices “probably are bringing out many thousands of fundamentalist, Republican voters who, until today, were too disgusted to vote,” and “probably have guaranteed” passage of constitutional amendments in the eight states.

In Congress, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., quickly sought to fan those political flames, warning that if Democrats take control of the House and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., becomes speaker, the traditional definition of marriage between a man and a woman could be in jeopardy.

“Beginning in 1996 with the Defense of Marriage Act and in subsequent years with votes on the federal marriage amendment, House Republicans have fought to defend the will of the people each time a court has sought to redefine marriage,” Blunt said. “The Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, has opposed each and every one of these efforts.”

But liberal groups noted that the New Jersey ruling, while a positive development from their viewpoint, stopped short of fully recognizing gay marriage and does not impose any mandate on religious institutions.

“No church or congregation will ever be forced to bless any marriage or civil union,” said Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way. “Discrimination is being dismantled. But religious liberty is secure.”

(Robert Cohen writes for the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)

KRE/RB END COHEN

Editors: See mainbar, RNS-NJ-GAYMARRIAGE, and related sidebars RNS-NJ-REAX and RNS-NJ-QANDA, both transmitted Oct. 26.