newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MICHAEL HAYNE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Last week, New Jersey’s ponderous and pugnacious Governor sumo-pressed progress when, as promised, he matter of factly vetoed the same-sex marriage bill both chambers of New Jersey’s legislature passed. Although expecting the veto, gay marriage advocates and LGBT groups were still quite disheartened, especially after New York’s governor green-lighted gay marriage last year and Maryland’s Democratic Governor recently came out in support of a gay marriage bill passed in his state’s legislature.

Christie, of course, remains committed to the religious right’s platitude that marriage is a legal document between a man and a woman (unless you’re Newt Gingrich, Ted Haggard, Roy Ashburn, Mark Sanford, Mark Foley, etc, etc).

“My position is that marriage should be between one man and one woman,” Christie told Piers Morgan on an episode of Piers Morgan Tonight that aired last night. “That always has been my position and it remains so. I ran that way in 2009, told people that was an issue in the campaign, made myself very clear.” Christie also said that it was “the right thing to do."

Christie also remains steadfastly committed to putting the rights and dignity of people intent on being miserable happily married to a public referendum. Christie was deservably lambasted for making some controversial comments regarding the Civil Rights movement and the push for marriage equality. The tough “Joisey Guy” governor did his best Tony Soprano when he said that blacks in the 1960s would have preferred referendums on desegregation, which is the direction he has taken regarding the promulgation of same-sex marriage. The problem, of course, is that such a referendum would have failed. This is why we do not put rights to a vote.

“Let’s put it on the ballot, and let’s let people decide,” Christie told Morgan. “And if the people of New Jersey – as some of the same-sex marriage advocates suggest the polls indicate – are in favor of it, then my position would not be the winning position. But I’m willing to take that risk, because I trust the people of the state.”

New Jersey’s Democrats rightfully believe that a matter of civil rights shouldn’t be put on a ballot and vow to overturn Christie’s veto, even though they may not have the sufficient votes in the Assembly.

Well, it’s official: Christie is either going to be Romney’s VP or he’s running for president in 2016.

Michael Hayne is a comedian/VO artist/Columnist extraordinaire, who co-wrote an award-nominated comedy, produces a chapter of Laughing Liberally, 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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