New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
won't say whether he supports a New Jersey bill which seeks to ban
therapies that attempt to alter a minor's sexual orientation from gay
to straight.
At a news conference on Wednesday,
Christie reiterated his opposition to gay marriage when asked whether
Ohio Senator Rob Portman's recent endorsement had swayed him.
“[As] far as how it affects my view,
no,” Christie answered. “Because that question implies that
somehow this is a political judgment and for me it's not.”
On banning gay conversion therapy in
the state, Christie refused to answer.
“I'm of two minds just on this stuff
in general,” he said. “Number one, I think there should be lots
of deference given to parents on raising their children. I don't,
this is a general philosophy, not to this bill, generally
philosophically, on bills that restrict parents' ability to make
decisions on how to care for their children, I'm generally a skeptic
of those bills. Now there can always be exceptions to those rules
and this bill may be one of them.”
(Related: Out
teen testifies in favor of ban on “ex-gay” therapy; says he's
“not broken.”)
Barbara Buono, the governor's
Democratic gubernatorial opponent, called his comments on the issue
“ignorant.”
The
Star-Ledger quoted Buono as saying: “The governor said he
doesn't know much about gay conversion therapy. I don't know how
much more you need to know. I couldn't believe the stunning level of
ignorance that that statement showed.”
UPDATE: Christie spokesman Kevin
Roberts issued a statement declaring that “Gov. Christie does not
believe in conversion therapy.”