A large majority of New Jersey voters
say they support the legalization of gay marriage.
According to a Quinnipiac University
poll of 1,068 New Jersey voters conducted from July 2 to 7, 60
percent of respondents support gay marriage, while 31 percent remain
opposed.
While a majority of Democrats (69%) and
independents (64%) support marriage equality, only 39 percent of
Republicans do. Forty-nine percent of Republicans remain opposed.
Pollsters also found a 2-1 job approval
rating for Republican Governor Chris Christie, despite his opposition
to gay nuptials.
In vetoing a marriage equality bill
approved by lawmakers last year, Christie called for a referendum on
the issue, saying that on an issue this important the people should
be consulted.
“The governor's job approval is
stratospheric and even his veto of same-sex marriage, an issue which
continues to draw 2-1 support, hasn't hurt him,” said
Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling
Institute.
Last week, plaintiffs
suing the state for the right to marry asked a judge to quickly end
the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage, saying that a
recent Supreme Court ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA) creates an urgent need to act.
(Related: New
Jersey's Chris Christie calls DOMA ruling “wrong.”)