New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has been the state’s chief opponent of marriage equality, vetoing a same-sex marriage bill from the state legislature and defending New Jersey’s ban in court. During a debate Tuesday night with Democratic challenger Barbara Buono, he explained that, unlike Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), it wouldn’t even matter if one of his four children came out as gay; he’d still oppose recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples:
Republican Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that if one of his four children came out as gay, he would “grab them and hug them and tell them I love them.”
He would also tell them “that Dad believes that marriage is between one man and one woman,” he said. […]
“My children understand that there are going to be differences of opinion in our house and in houses all across this state and across this country,” Christie said. He said he would respect voters if they approved gay marriage, but said the decision does not belong to the courts or the legislature.
In a previous debate last week, Christie suggested that marriage equality was simply a “political agenda.” Buono countered, “My daughter, who is openly gay, is not a political agenda.” In the past, Christie claimed that his friends know he isn’t bigoted, but he doesn’t believe marriage equality is actually about gay rights. Still, he does believe people are born gay and are not sinners, and he recently signed a bill banning ex-gay therapy for minors.
Christie insists that the people of New Jersey should be allowed to vote on the civil rights of the gay community, including his own hypothetical gay son or daughter. If he wants to abide the will of the people, perhaps he should just acknowledge polling from the past two years that shows a growing majority support marriage equality: January 2012 (52 percent); February 2012 (54 percent); March 2012 (57 percent); May 2013 (53 percent); April 2013 (62 percent); July 2013 (60 percent); October 2013 (62 percent).