The 72-hour waiting period for eager couples ready to tie the knot in New Jersey should be annulled, according to two NJ lawmakers.
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) and state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) are proposing (down on one knee) a bill to end New Jersey’s 72-hour waiting period for couples applying for marriage licenses.
Greenwald and Scutari say the change will give the state a competitive edge in the wedding tourism market and jump-start business in places like Atlantic City and other resort or wedding destinations, giving the state the “best in tourism dollars.”
The proposed bill will also allow couples looking to get hitched to apply for marriage or civil union licenses anywhere in the state, rather than the city in which they live.
If passed, New Jersey would join Connecticut and Rhode Island as the only states in the Northeast with no waiting period. So far, 27 states have no waiting period for issuing marriage or civil union licenses. Neighboring states, like New York and Delaware, have a 24-hour waiting period.
