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Christie Secures VP with Gay Marriage Veto

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Sending New Jersey’s gay marriage bill to the dustbin, 49-year-old Gov. Chris Christie wielded his veto pen only days after the New Jersey senate and house passed the measure. In vetoing the bill, Christie sent the measure back to the legislature to be fashioned into a ballot initiative, letting voters have the final choice. Should former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, now locked in a dogfight with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, win the nomination, Christie almost certainly will be Romney’s pick for VP. Heading into Michigan’s Feb. 28 primary, Romney has a high-wire act to convince voters that he’s not the insensitive venture capitalist, tossing union workers to the wolves. When revelations about Romney’s taxes and investments in the Cayman Islands came out, his approval ratings headed south. Now in recovery mode, Romney hopes to show he’s all about the little guy.

Christie’s decision to veto New Jersey’s gay marriage bill was a no brainer. No one expected the occasional maverick to buck the Republican party line, opposing gay marriage but more recently embroiled in the wider contraception issue. While opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, contraception hit the headlines when President Barack Obama insisted that Catholic hospitals distribute free condoms. When the controversy threatened to eclipse the campaign, Barack eventually backed down, relaxing the rule about Catholic hospitals passing out free contraception. Now Christie earns his brownie points pulling the rug out from underneath gay marriage. “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 prepared statement.

Putting gay marriage before voters opens up a can of worms as Prop 8’s Marriage Protection Act did in California. Voters approved by direct ballot a ban on gay marriage, forcing the California Supreme Court and U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to rule that the measure was unconstitutional. Christie surely knows that if New Jersey passed a similar measure, it too would be subject to the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protect and Due Process clauses. High courts around the country, starting with the one in Massachusetts in 1994, have ruled that same-sex marriage is a civil right protected by the 14th Amendment. “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 . . .” said Christie, conveniently passing the buck.

No GOP presidential candidate can support same-sex marriage and hope to be a viable candidate. Christie’s position about amending the state’s constitution would never pass because of opposition from conservative groups. Putting the matter before voters puts too much responsibility on ordinary citizens to make decisions that only the U.S. Supreme Court can make. Christie also knows that it’s not uncommon for voters to express regional views that differ with federal laws. Christie and other GOP leaders talk about states’ rights regional differences that can run afoul with the U.S. Constitution. There’s nothing heroic in Christie vetoing New Jersey’s same-sex marriage law. There’s little downside for Christie to veto the same law the New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law June 24, 2011. Maryland’s legislature just passed its own gay marriage bill, pending approval in the state senate.

Same-sex marriage legislation around the country is about recognizing gay and lesbian issues as civil rights. Domestic partnerships, as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court noted in 2004, create a separate-but-equal class, prohibited by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. “We are disappointed that Gov. Christie didn’t do what is right for New Jersey families, but we are not discouraged,” said Hayley Gorenberg, Deputy Legal Director of Lambda Legal gay rights group. “We’ll continue to make our case for equality with our plaintiffs in court,” said Gorenberg, refusing to give up the fight. Elected officials have responsibilities to the U.S. Constitution over their regional and religious preferences. No public official should allow personal religious preferences to dictate how they vote on controversial issues.

Christie grabbed the national headlines, throwing his hat in the VP ring should his good buddy Mitt win the GOP nomination. Garden state voters, like those in New York, tend to vote for progressive civil rights issues. More blue collar than New Yorkers, they tend to be more conservative on social issues. While only six states and Washigton D.C. have passed same sex marriage laws, Washington State’s Democratic Catholic Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the state’s same-sex marriage into law February 13. Thirty states, including South Carolina, have passed Defense of Marriage laws, defining marriage as a “union between a man and a woman.” Despite regional preferences and states’ rights, all thirty states are in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, guaranteeing Equal Protection and Due Process under the law. With the U.S. Supreme Court tilting conservatively, it’s doubtful they’ll step on states’ rights to overturn state Defense of Marriage laws anytime soon.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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