As marriage equality legislation advances in New Jersey, Washington, and Maryland, many conservative groups, such as the National Organization for Marriage and Family Policy Institute of Washington, are discussing the possibility of taking the issue to the ballot. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) even called a referendum “the bargain of your life,” suggesting there are no consequences to such an approach.

But Glenda Russell, a psychologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has published significant research on the negative impacts of LGBT-related ballot initiatives through the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (which merged to become part of the Williams Institute). In an unpublished letter to the editor obtained by ThinkProgress, she highlights how problematic Christie’s “bargain” is:

New Jersey’s Governor Christie offers a referendum on same-sex marriage as a way to simultaneously appear reasonable and avoid alienating conservative voters in a possible future national election. “Reasonable,” perhaps—until one considers the impact of such referenda. Decades of research have shown that these elections take a significant psychological toll on people whose lives and loves are objectified, dissected, and subjected to all manner of myths and lies. They divide families and communities and introduce vitriol into conversations among neighbors. Further, Christie is horribly wrong in his assertion that African-Americans “would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights …” Research demonstrates that when any group’s rights have been submitted to popular vote, they have usually lost those rights. Such outcomes have served as tragic reminders of de Tocqueville’s warning to beware the tyranny of the majority.

Here are some of the severe psychological consequences Russell and other researches have identified:

• LGBT people are stressed by being the focus and target of a “culture war,” having the way they their lives analyzed and debated, enduring the reinforcement of homophobic and heterosexist ideas and stereotypes, and resisting anti-gay rhetoric and pseudo-research.
• The children of same-sex couples also experiences these stresses, which can be compounded by stigma and bullying they may face in school.
• LGBT people face extra psychological risk if they actively engage in the hostile political campaign.
• Communities are divided as individuals “take sides” in the debate.
• Family members can become estranged if they intend to vote differently on these issues.
• The measures also increase stress for the family members of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals who might be impacted by them.

In addition, ballot initiatives are huge financial drains for the community. For example, Minnesota’s marriage fight has already led to over $2 million in fundraising between both proponents and opponents of the discriminatory amendment and the vote is not for another nine months. This is money that could be spent supporting the social welfare rather than fueling a divisive and harmful debate.

To treat ballot initiatives like they have no consequences is foolish. They drain time, money, and morale from the LGBT community, using a plea for “democracy” as an excuse to delay the advance of civil rights.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) argued that he is offering activists of marriage equality “the bargain of your life” by advocating that the legislature pass a bill asking residents to vote on the right of gay and lesbian people to marry. Speaking at a town hall in Denville on Thursday morning, Christie reiterated his pledge to veto any measure expanding marriage rights, but announced that he has asked Republicans in the legislature to support a popular referendum on the issue:

CHRISTIE: If the majority of the people want [same-sex marriage] prove it. Put it on the ballot, let it be voted on….I’ve told every Republican in the state legislator to vote to put it on the ballot. They need three-fifths to put it on the ballot. The Republicans have two-fifths in the legislature. So that means the Democrats only need to come up with one-fifth of the legislature…this is the bargain of your life. I’m giving you two-fifths! And the polls they show me say that if it goes on the ballot, it will lose. How much more magnanimous can I be? What else do you want me to do? Go campaign for it too? Look, I’m doing the best I can here!

Watch it:

Earlier this week, Christie apologized for comparing a referendum for same-sex marriage to the Civil Rights movement and suggesting that African Americans would have been better off if the public could have voted to end segregation and discrimination. Christie’s remarks triggered a strong backlash from African-American leaders, such as Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who suggested Christie “has not read his recent history books” and pointed out that “most of the governors…were outright segregationists.” Newark Mayor Cory Booker responded simply: “Frankly, I wouldn’t be where I am today” if states had voted on civil rights.

Yesterday, the Judiciary Committee of the New Jersey General Assembly voted 5-2 to advance marriage equality legislation and a full Senate vote is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13. State Senate President Steve Sweeney also reiterated his opposition to extending fundamental rights through popular vote. “It’s time for everyone, from the governor to the chattering observers, to stop talking about a marriage equality referendum in terms of ‘if,’” Sweeney said “There will be no referendum on marriage equality in New Jersey, period.”

Earlier this week, 14-year-old Sarah Crank lit up the Internet — and sparked a contentious debate — for asking Maryland lawmakers to defeat a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. Prohibiting gays and lesbians from marrying “would be the best birthday present ever if you would vote no on gay marriage,” Crank said in her testimony and explained, “I really feel bad for the kids who have two parents of the same gender, they have no idea what kind of wonderful experiences they miss out on.”

Well this morning, 15-year-old Madison Galluccio, who is being raised by same-sex parents, effectively countered Crank’s claim as she testified before New Jersey’s House Judiciary Committee in favor of marriage equality. “New Jersey has made me feel discriminated, like I’m some sort of outcast,” she told the committee. “But guess what New Jersey, I’m no outcast. I’m Madison Galluccio and I’m part of the Galluccio family. My parents will be married. And I’ll make sure that this happens ’til the day that I die.” She added:

So please, will you help me? Help me feel equal. We’re no different. I’m no different. And I shouldn’t have to be forced to feel I’m different. This is my family. And I want us to be able to have the same rights as you. So New Jersey, please give me my freedom. Thank you.

Listen (via Jeremy Hooper):

The New Jersey legislature is considering legislation extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians, which Gov. Chris Christie (R) has pledged to veto. (HT: OnTopMagazine)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has apologized for comments he made that the civil rights movement could have advanced with referenda instead of deadly protests, admitting, “I wasn’t clear enough. I absolutely wasn’t”:

CHRISTIE: I also recognize that my job, one of my jobs as Governor, is to clearly communicate to people what I’m thinking, every time I open my mouth. And I try to be very good about being very direct about what I say so that there’s no ambiguity but obviously when I was talking last week at the town hall meeting about the civil rights movement in the South, I wasn’t clear enough. I just wasn’t.

And what I did was, by saying those things, I left them open to misinterpretation and obviously there are some folks out there whose feelings I hurt or sensibilities I offended. And I apologize for that, because that’s my job. My job is to clearly communicate all the time. And so to those folks out there who were somehow offended or concerned about the ambiguity in my statement, I apologize for that because very clearly what I was trying to say, I said yesterday at the press conference about five or six times.

He did, however, defend calling those who compared him to segregationists as “numbnuts,” explaining that his mother used to use the term for him. “Maybe I should have said ‘stupid, out-of-line,’” he suggested, after asking, “What’s wrong with “numbnuts’?” In fact, Christie didn’t actually take back any of his comments, but merely tried to assuage those who were offended. Listen to it:

Christie’s remarks have triggered a strong backlash from African-American leaders, such as Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who suggested Christie “has not read his recent history books” and pointed out that “most of the governors…were outright segregationists.” Newark Mayor Cory Booker responded simply: “Frankly, I wouldn’t be where I am today” if states had voted on civil rights.

Meanwhile, five former New Jersey govenors, including Democrats Brendan Byrne and James Florio, have broken with Christie by endorsing marriage equality. “I think the climate is right on a basis of civil rights,” said Byrne, the oldest of the former Garden State governors. “I would ask that the Legislature pass it.” Former Govs. Jon Corzine and Jim McGreevey, both democrats, are on record as supporting marriage equality, as well as two Republicans, Tom Kean and Christie Todd.

(Fatima Najiy contributed to this post)

Chris Christie responded to the growing outrage over his claims last week that New Jersey residents should decide whether gay and lesbian people should be allowed to marry by admitting that public opinion may not be receptive to extending civil liberties to minorities. Christie took particular umbrage at African American leaders who condemned his suggestion that “people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.” Here are his comments from this morning via Andy Towle:

“Political members of the state legislature comparing me to Lester Maddox and George Wallace shows how desperate the Democrats are,” Christie said…. “The question was raised to me by the mayor of Asbury Park,” Christie recalled. “I think afterwards they all understood and affirmed to me that I was not being critical of the Civil Rights movement. They knew exactly what I meant, which is that the political climate didn’t give them a chance for a referendum.” [...]

Christie said “numnuts like (Assemblyman) Reed Gusciora should be ashamed of themselves” for comparing him to Maddox and Wallace.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) decision to place same-sex marriage on the ballot has drawn some sharp criticism from many in his state. Christie tried to defend the move by arguing that “people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South” – a comparison Newark Mayor Cory Booker and other African American leaders condemned.

Now, New Jerseyans and the tri-state media are pushing back against the proposed referendum, claiming that an issue of equal rights should not be decided at the ballot box:

– NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL: To turn what is a matter of civil rights over to voters would be an abdication of lawmakers’ duty. It would also be a sharp break with New Jersey tradition. The last time the state held a referendum on civil rights was 1915, when a majority voted “no” on granting women the right to vote.

– STAR-LEDGER EDITORIAL: Take race relations. If Southern states could have held a referendum on free speech rights for Martin Luther King Jr., can anyone doubt how it would have turned out? How long would it have taken for voters in Mississippi to integrate its public schools? Gallup has traced attitudes toward interracial marriage for decades. Note that when the Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s ban in 1967, fewer than 1 in 5 Americans supported the court’s position. If Christie’s philosophy had carried the day, the ban would have remained in place until the late 1990s. The point is that minority rights should not be subjected to majority vote. That misses the gist of constitutional rights.

– MYCENTRALJERSEY.COM EDITORIAL: There is, however, a reason we elect representatives, to conduct the business that cannot be done by the masses at every turn. And sometimes, that means transcending public opinion to do what’s right, to overcome prejudice and ignorance that can die hard.

– BERGEN RECORD COLUMNIST ALFRED DOBLIN: Civil rights should not be determined by popular vote. Our nation has failed at that task almost every time. The public is swayed by emotion. Today it is manipulated by slick, expensive advertising campaigns. California’s Proposition 8 that banned same-sex marriage was all about politics and money. I marvel how the governor kept a straight – pun intended – face when he said putting marriage equality on the ballot in a presidential election year would make the issue non-political.

– PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER COLUMNIST KEVIN RIORDAN: In calling for an American Idol-style yea-nay about the private lives of thousands of New Jerseyans, Christie seems to have forgotten something. “We are debating about the lives of real people,” the bill cosponsor, Sen. Loretta Weinberg, told the hearing. Marriage equality, the Bergen County Democrat added, is about “people we all know, love and respect.”

-Zachary Bernstein

Newark Mayor Cory Booker called into WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer show this morning to condemn New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for suggesting that voters should decide whether gay and lesbian people should be allowed to marry in the state. Christie expanded on his comments yesterday, claiming “people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.”

“Frankly, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” if states had voted on equal rights legislation for African Americans during the 1960s, Booker told Lehrer. “This is not about a choice, it’s about a fundamental right and the 14th Amendment is very clear. It says, ‘equal protections under the law’ and right now in America we have second-class citizenship set-up where certain Americans can have privileges that certain Americans do not enjoy and that is just wrong.” Listen:

Booker has registered his outrage with Christie’s comments in a formal statement, during a press conference, and through his Twitter account. “This isn’t a right/left issue. There are many Republicans that are in favor of marriage equality, I’m just hoping that our legislature acts,” he said on the radio and predicted that putting the issue on the November ballot could help the GOP turn out conservative voters.

He added, “there are somethings I don’t mind putting on the ballot — we’re thinking about here in Newark putting on the ballot a question of do we want to pay a 1 percent more in property taxes to fund our police department — those kinds of things I think are good, but when it comes to fundamental rights that I believe are explicitly guaranteed by the Constitution… I do not think they should be subject to popular whim.”

Booker has long supported marriage equality and refuses to “perform marriages at Newark city hall until all couples have the right” to marry.