New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora
believes gay marriage advocates lack a strategy to legalize gay
marriage in the state.
Gusciora has taken heat in recent days
for proposing legislation to let voters decide the issue.
Local and national gay groups, along
with Democratic leaders in the state, have rejected the approach,
saying rights should never be put up for a popular vote.
In vetoing a marriage bill in February,
Republican Governor Chris Christie called on lawmakers to go directly
to the people. Gusciora rejected the suggested then, but he told The
Star-Ledger that last month's election results in support of
marriage equality changed his mind on winning such rights at the
ballot box.
In an appearance on Michelangelo
Signorile's SiriusXM radio program, Gusciora, who is openly gay,
defended his approach and accused his critics of playing politics.
“There is no strategy,” he said.
“The Human Rights [Campaign], the national groups, they need to
talk to other gays in the state instead of one person, who everyone
seems to talk about [Steve Goldstein, executive director of Garden
State Equality]. They're not even talking to legislators. It's
short-sighted not to talk to openly gay legislators in the state. I
don't think [Goldstein] needs to criticize anyone with a contrarian
opinion. We should do all of the above: We should post it for an
override, which has little chance. We should continue with efforts
in the courts. We should think about reintroducing it in the
Legislature. We should do all of the above, including a ballot
measure.”