New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is
talking up gay marriage.
In responding to Newark daily the
Star-Ledger, Corzine said “I think we ought to go to
marriage equality.”
Corzine, a Democrat, has quietly
promised the state's gay and lesbian community that if reelected he
would shepherd a gay marriage bill through the Legislature.
Opponents have blasted Corzine, saying he is simply pandering to his
gay supporters. Corzine signed a civil unions law in 2006, calling
it a “proud” moment, but made it clear that he believed marriage
was reserved for heterosexual unions.
“That is not where my personal views
are because I was brought up in the context of religious beliefs that
would define marriage as between a man and a woman,” he told the
Star-Ledger.
But lately Corzine has shifted on the
issue, even appearing last summer at a Gay Pride festival in Asbury
Park.
“I want to be very clear on this,”
Corzine said. “I don't call it gay marriage. I call it marriage
equality because I believe that we ought to be treating people under
our Constitution here in the state of New Jersey as determined by our
courts. There needs to be equal treatment under the law. If it's
lame-duck, or if it doesn't occur in lame-duck, I'll push for it in
the next year.”
Chris Christie, Corzine's Republican
opponent, responded that he was “not a supporter of same-sex
marriage.”
“I think civil unions are strong and
I think they're good and I'm a supporter of civil unions and the
civil union law in New Jersey,” Christie said. “But I am not a
supporter of same-sex marriage.”
“I think that's something that the
people should vote on, not the Legislature,” he added.