newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MICHAEL HAYNE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Tuesday night saw (hopefully) the final end to the miserably uninformed vulgarians of hate and accidentally hilarious ignorance in the tea party wing (the only wing) of the Republican party, as Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, and Claire McCaskill all "legitimately raped" their Tea Party opponents. And we also watched as citizens in three states collectively ignored all the vacuous garbage from the Christian Taliban and gave their support to marriage equality. After all, if Kim Kardashian and Newt Gingrich can get married, there’s absolutely no more damage that gay couples can do to the arrangement.

With Maine, Washington, and Maryland all approving ballot initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage, it’s safe to assume that last night’s election served as a crushing indictment of the rabid right-wing’s social agenda. For example, Maine’s voters approved marriage equality with 53 percent in favor and 47 percent opposed, a huge reversal of the 2009 people’s veto of the very same law. In Maryland, voters overwhelmingly approved marriage equality by a 52-48 margin, and in Washington voters also vehemently supported marriage equality. So we’re looking at you, New Jersey! And by you, we mean Governor Christie.

Okay, Chris Christie has had a tough week (just look at his sweat shirt), from his very noble and effective handling of Superstorm Sandy, to the ridiculously hateful and unfounded backlash he received within his own party for complementing that damn Kenya Socialist and his FEMA readiness. And all the while,conservatives called for Christie's head (despite wanting him to run since they never liked Romney, and supported Romney like Hillary Clinton supports Bill).

Oh, and then there's that whole snowpocalypse thing last night. So Christie definitely gets a reprieve. But as soon as the weather goes back to non-biblical times (climate change, anyone?), it’s back to pressuring Christie on same-sex marriage. Hey, he already got a handshake from Bruce Springsteen for his handling of Sandy, so just imagine the bromance that would occur should Christie come out in favor of same-sex marriage.

After all, who cares about 2016 presidential aspirations when Christie could be BFFs with his childhood icon in Springsteen, a man who vehemently supports marriage equality and has largely ignored Christie's advances due to the governor's nil support for it. In February of this year, Christie followed through on his pledge to veto the historic same-sex marriage bill passed by New Jersey’s state Senate and Assembly. Worse yet, New Jersey’s Assembly didn’t have the votes to override Christie’s veto.

Here are Christie’s comments following his promised veto, according to an LA Times article:

“I am adhering to what I’ve said since this bill was first introduced — an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide,” Christie said in a statement, the Associated Press reported. “I continue to encourage the Legislature to trust the people of New Jersey and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents a profoundly significant societal change.”

I may hate to admit it, but it may be time for New Jersey to hop on the fabulous bandwagon of putting civil rights up for a vote.

Here’s a photo taken in Maine where marriage equality was on the ballot. This could be you, New Jersey!

Michael Hayne is a comedian/VO artist/Columnist extraordinaire, who co-wrote an award-nominated comedy, wrote for NY Times Laugh Lines, guest-blogged for Joe Biden, and writes a column for MSNBC.com affiliated Cagle Media. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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