New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) hopes to put the politically delicate question of same-sex marriage behind him and is prepared to swiftly veto a bill extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians, even if it means ignoring the arguments of proponents.

ThinkProgress has learned that Christie has yet to respond to a letter from fellow Governor Chris Gregoire (D-WA) offering the blunt-speaking Christie advise on the issue. In the letter, dated Jan. 31, 2012, Gregoire wrote, “I have been on a personal journey, because while I am a Governor, I am also a Catholic.” “If you would like to talk, please give me a call.” The correspondence also contained a copy of Gregoire’s remarks upon announcing her support for marriage equality. Gregoire has received “no response to date,” her office confirms. Below is a copy of the letter:

Rather than considering equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, however, Christie has largely dismissed his critics and called for a state referendum on the issue. During a press conference yesterday, the New Jersey governor referred to the senate’s passage of same-sex marriage bill as “a good bunch of theater” and told lawmakers, “it’s not going to happen.”

A new study from researchers at Northwestern and Brown Universities found that bullying and harassment of LGBT people can have a significant impact on suicidal thoughts and self-harm for young people, particularly for those who have attempted suicide before:

The victimization of LGBT youth is widespread and has been characterized as an important but unexamined reason for higher rates of self-harm. The current study found that victimization experienced across the assessment waves prospectively predicted self-harm and suicidal ideation. Indeed, after suicide attempt history, LGBT victimization was the strongest predictor of self-harm, being associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk. Similarly, gender nonconformity was another LGBT-specific risk factor with significant effects.

The researchers pointed out to NPR that family acceptance without judgment is key to deterring suicidal thoughts. If young people are ostracized or bullied at school, they need to be able to find social support at home. The Family Acceptance Project has similarly found that there is a high correlation between family rejection and suicide attempts, as well as illegal drug use.

It’s important to point out that bullying and victimization do not directly cause suicide, but they do contribute to an individual’s depression and hopelessness, which can lead to self-destructive behaviors. Other studies have also shown there are long-term health consequences to bullying, but social support through gay-straight alliances at school can mitigate those impacts.

Fox News’ infamous psychiatrist Keith Ablow has today joined the network’s personal attacks on Media Matters’ David Brock, suggesting Brock is “dangerous” because he “is an adopted boy”:

ABLOW: He’s a dangerous man, because having followers and waging war… this isn’t accidental language. It’s about violence, destruction, and he feels destroyed in himself. [...] This is an adopted boy who needs to plumb the depths of his psyche. He was adopted. Many adopted children are tremendously well-adjusted, but for some reason, this man feels he’s unloved and unloveable, shunted to the side, and that’s the antidote he feels: unlimited power. Guess what? It never ever works.

Watch it:

This is not the first time Ablow has attacked Brock for being adopted. He made similar claims last summer, suggesting Brock is “looking for any way he can get narcissistic reinforcement to tell him he’s a decent person.”

Ablow notes that he has never actually evaluated Brock, but his generalizations and extrapolation about adoption are likely offensive to anyone who was adopted, and suggest how low Fox is willing to stoop in attacking enemies. Of course, Ablow has a long history portraying non-heterosexual people and others as crazy while apologizing for the misdeeds of ideological allies, like Newt Gingrich.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) — a long time supporter of the LGBT community and proponent of marriage equality — is calling on the Democratic party to include marriage rights for gays and lesbians in its 2012 party platform, Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner reports. Pelosi’s backing comes in response to Freedom to Marry’s new ‘Say I Do‘ campaign, which is pushing Democrats to become the first major political party to adopt the policy:

The proposed plank states: “We support the full inclusion of all families in the life of our nation, with equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law, including the freedom to marry. Government has no business putting barriers in the path of people seeking to care for their family members, particularly in challenging economic times. We support the Respect for Marriage Act and the overturning of the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and oppose discriminatory constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny the freedom to marry to loving and committed same-sex couples.”

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill tells Metro Weekly, “Leader Pelosi supports this language.”

The Democrats’ 2008 platform opposed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which the Obama administration is no longer defending in court, but took no position on marriage equality. Obama has said that he is still “evolving” on the issue, even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers now support marriage. At least 91 Democrats in the House, including Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and 23 senators back same-sex marriage. Twelve Democratic governors (and one Independent, Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island) also favor full marriage rights.