Reflecting the will of a majority of people in New Jersey, the state Assembly on Feb. 16 approved a law making same-sex marriage legal in this state — the same law the Senate passed earlier in the week.
The passage reflects a sea change from two years ago, when lawmakers failed to pass the law, and have had time to reflect on their actions and get a better reading on the mood of their constituents. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), for example, called his passiveaggressive opposition last time one of the greatest “mistakes” of his political career. He abstained from voting on the measure and helped it go down to defeat, he said, because he thought at the time that it was a religious issue, when in fact it is a civil rights issue.
This year, the law passed the Senate and the Assembly easily, and would have made New Jersey the eighth state in the nation to recognize same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough votes in the Legislature to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto. He says he wants to put the matter to a vote in the November elections in the form of a constitutional amendment, which requires a referendum.
If I believed that his continued opposition came from some deeply held religious conviction, I could understand it. I would disagree, because I believe in the separation of church and state, but I would understand it. I don’t think that’s the case, however. I think it’s a cynical political ploy to protect himself, as he contemplates a run for president in 2016, and his Republican legislators at home.
Here’s a sad truth: In almost every case, lawmakers simply abhor the thought of putting the making of a new law in the hands of the public. There’s a reason it’s so difficult to get a citizen initiative on the ballot in New Jersey, and that reason is that nobody in Trenton wants it to be easy. They worked pretty hard to get to the Deciders Chamber, and they don’t want every Tom, Dick and Harriet with a weird cause and questionable judgment stealing their thunder, thank you very much.
Take Chris Christie, for example. He’s a man with an agenda who’s run roughshod over nearly everyone who’s stood in his way. When it came to pulling the state’s budget and finances back from the brink of the abyss, we needed someone like that, and have been fairly supportive of his take-charge attitude and actions.
But since he’s been governor, how many times— not counting this same-sex marriage law— has he suggested the outcome should be decided at the ballot box in his home state by constitutional amendment?
Anybody? Anybody? The answer is never. So why now? Because it will keep his hands clean, that’s why. He’ll never have to look a group of conservative Christian voters and donors in the eye, and explain how a Republican governor and candidate for national office allowed such a thing to happen. “It wasn’t me,” he can say if the referendum is approved. “It was those other guys.”
And besides, he knows that even if the matter goes to referendum, the outcome is not a sure thing. At this point, 52 percent of the state’s voters support same-sex marriage, and 42 percent oppose. But the battle that will be fought between the time when the decision is made to put the matter on the ballot and the November election is sure to draw lots of outside money geared at firing up and galvanizing the opposition.
A high turnout of those who vehemently oppose same-sexmarriage, and a lower turnout of those who support it, but for whomit is not a definitive issue, could mean the temporary defeat of same-sex marriage in New Jersey. And when the state Legislature is able to regroup and put a new bill on the governor’s desk, Christie is hoping he’ll be gone and won’t have to deal with it.
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While I think Christie is way off base when it comes to same-sex marriage, I think he did the right thing by ordering flags on public buildings to be flown at half-staff last week on the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. As soon as he announced the order, many critics suggested that it was shameful to honor someone who had such a long history of drug abuse, and may have even died as a result.
Whitney Houston’s problems with drugs were well known and sad, but the governor was spot on when he said that it was the Newark girl’s cultural contributions that have made, and continue to make, us proud.
In years to come, she’ll be remembered in her home state for her voice and her lasting contributions to music, and not her personal demons or failings. Somewhere Frank Sinatra — a Hoboken fellow who had a few shortcomings and demons of his own, but was still honored when state flags flew at half-staff on his passing — is undoubtedly smiling.
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Some of the best news around last week was word that Route 18 will be extended through Piscataway to make it easier to connect with Interstate 287. The $28 million project should be completed by 2014 and will rebuild 2½ miles of road and 20 intersections on Hoes Lane and Centennial Avenue.
Anybody who travels that bit of road through New Brunswick and Piscataway knows that it can sometimes take you as long to get from East Brunswick to I-287 as it takes to get to the NewYork border once you finally fight your way through the traffic and congestion on River Road near Rutgers and make it to the highway. This extension won’t solve the problem completely, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Gregory Bean is the former executive editor ofGreaterMedia Newspapers. You can reach him at [email protected].