TRENTON – Senate President Steve Sweeney issued the following statement today regarding the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that California's Proposition 8, which prohibited marriage equality, is unconstitutional:

"Today's court ruling simply reaffirmed what we already knew: Marriage equality is right and its time is now.  It also shows what can happen when the rights of the minority are left to the whim of politics, sound bites and millions of dollars in campaign ads.  You don't put people's rights on the ballot, period.

"Next week, the Senate will vote on and pass marriage equality.  There will be no multi-million dollar media campaigns.  There will be no using the issue to drum up political bases.  There will be no punting the matter so it doesn’t interfere with political ambitions. You either support marriage equality or you don’t.  There is no third option.”