New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, a practising Catholic did, as he promised he would immediately do, vetoed the legislation that would have allowed for same sex marriage in his state, the legislation having passed both houses of the legislature.
On a further positive note he asked for an investigation into the current civil union law to fix any matters which may disadvantage same sex couples in that relationship.
On the other hand he called for the matter to be put to a referendum of voters, a call which, surprisingly, was immediately rejected by the Democrats. Surprising particularly given the usual nasty liberal tone as expressed in the mass of comments about Governor Christie's actions in this report
It never ceases to amaze how people who are supposedly 'liberal' minded can be so vicious and unbending in their attitude to people they disagree with.
If one believes, as I do that marriage, as defined for thousands of years, is between a man and a woman and should be continued to be so defined then Governor Christie's veto action is correct, and his advice that a referendum is needed, is not correct. Neither is it a contradiction to have supported the successful (until overturned, hopefully temporarily, until the Supreme Court makes the final judgement, by liberal judges)
California referendum which stopped the move to legalize same sex marriage.
If one opposes the concept of same sex marriage on religious, and perceived traditional family values, then whatever legal mechanism works to uphold those values is correct.
Conversely whatever positive advantages can be accrued to same sex couples through civil unions which protect their rights and dignity then that should be undertaken fully.
It is noteworthy that all the states and D.C. which allow for same sex marriage, have had the law introduced through judicial or legislative action and not a single territory has created the law by referendum. In fact it was overturned in Maine by referendum and prevented in California by referendum.
The judges who brought it in in Iowa were all defeated for re-election in 2010. Maryland will shortly, again only by its legislature, allow for same sex marriage. Ultra-liberal Washington state has, again, through the legislature, brought in same sex marriage legislation. Of the 28 states which created referendums defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman all 28 referendums were successful.Vox populi.
The right to marry was first extended to same-sex couples by a United States jurisdiction on November 18, 2003, by a state Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Massachusetts.[33]
On May 15, 2008, the Supreme Court of California issued a decision in which it effectively legalized same-sex marriage in California, holding that California's existing opposite-sex definition of marriage violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.[34][35] Same-sex marriage opponents in California placed a state constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8 on the November 2008 ballot for the purpose of restoring an opposite-sex definition of marriage.[36] Proposition 8 was passed on Election Day 2008, as were proposed marriage-limiting amendments in Florida and Arizona.[37] On August 4, 2010, a decision by the U.S. District Court in Perry v. Schwarzenegger ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional.[38] The decision in that case is currently being appealed and the case is ultimately expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.[39]
On October 10, 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the state's civil-unions statute (2005), as unconstitutionally discriminating against same-sex couples, and required the state to recognize same-sex marriages.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in Iowa following the unanimous ruling of the Iowa Supreme Court in Varnum v. Brien on April 3, 2009.[40]This decision was initially scheduled to take effect on April 24, but the date was changed to April 27 for administrative reasons.[22]
On April 7, 2009, Vermont legalized same-sex marriage through legislation. The Governor of Vermont had previously vetoed the measure, but the veto was overridden by the Legislature. Vermont became the first state in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative means rather than litigation.
On May 6, 2009, Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first state governor to do so.[41]However, the legislation was stayed pending a vote and never went into effect. It was repealed by referendum in November 2009.[19]
On June 3, 2009, New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage.[42]
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