Chris Christie Apologizes For Comment Linking Gay Marriage Referendum To Civil Rights

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie has apologized for a remark he made about civil rights but says he's not sorry for using a slang term to describe a lawmaker who compared him to segregationist Southern governors.

Christie, a Republican, spoke Tuesday night during TownSquare Media's "Ask the Governor" program on radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM. He apologized to anyone offended by his comment that people in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s would have been happier to have the matter settled by public vote rather than by dying in the streets. He was comparing civil rights to the fight for gay marriage.

But he didn't back down Tuesday from calling Democratic Assemblyman Reed Gusciora "numb nuts" after the lawmaker compared him to former Govs. George Wallace, of Alabama, and Lester Maddox, of Georgia. He says his late mother used the term.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, one of several black leaders in the state who had chastised the white governor for his civil rights remark, said she was glad he addressed the matter.

"The governor rightfully acknowledged the hurtful and insensitive nature of his remarks," Oliver said in a statement issued after the radio show had aired. "Going forward, I now trust and expect that, as the legislature moves toward implementing marriage equality, the governor will respect the serious nature of the constitutionality of civil rights and equal protection under the law."

Oliver and other state Democrats had held a news conference in Trenton on Monday with Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis, of Georgia, to take Christie to task for his comments.

Lewis, an icon of the civil rights movement, said that court and congressional actions were necessary to secure rights for blacks and that no referendum ever would have been successful.

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Comments

[drego99]

01:29 PM on 02/18/2012

Christie doesn't get it. He doesn't understand why 10 countries have now abandoned varying unequal forms of gay civil unions for full civil marriage equality. What we have seen with Christie is his political agenda and religious paranoia influencing a piece of civil legislation and pandering to the mob rule by religious bullies. If they had their way, being gay would be illegal. Christie has NO concept of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution wherein the rights of the minority must be guaranteed and protected. Mob rule which is what the 14th amendment is all about is what fascist regimes do. The votes of the peoples’ representatives in the legislatures no longer count. Oh I forgot, republicans, like Christie, don't consider human rights a top priority or all that important. All they care about are fattening their portfolios and paying little or no taxes while minorities and the rest of society can go to hell in a hand basket.

[Wanda Glass]

10:11 AM on 02/04/2012

He got his message out there didn't he...apology or not, we all know what he's about now, if we didn't before.

Oh, and this is the guy the Repubs and cronies practically BEGGED to run for the presidency....

[l78lancer]

03:20 AM on 02/03/2012

Christie's remark was dumb, ignorant and insensitive. He clearly had no understanding of the civil rights movement nor of the history and feelings of people in this country during that time. He was out of his league. In all fairness, there are still a lot of people living under an illusion about race and civil rights who didn't believe it was an issue then and don't believe it's an issue now. However, Christie has shown more integrity in his ability to admit error than has been demonstrated by his party in a very long time.

Whether his poll numbers went down, if his staff got to him, his PR people quit in protest, or he listened to himself on tape something worked, and it was to his benefit to make the correction. His party can learn something from him.

Now the question is can he learn a few factual things so that he can avoid running his mouth and prevent a stupid scenario like this from occurring from the beginning?

[Del Ham]

09:46 PM on 02/02/2012

Speaking of the Garden States, this just in from www.trentonian.com: "A 15-year-old being raised by gay parents tearfully asked a legislative panel to allow her fathers to marry so she’d feel like less like an outcast..." So, if you drank the Kool Aid, you'll know that this young lady will immediately be accepted by her peers just as soon as her two daddies kiss at the altar. Yea, that'll do the trick, then she won't feel like such an outcast.

[Guardian Weasel]

05:25 PM on 02/02/2012

(it's best to read this in the voice of Mayor Quimby from the Simpsons)

"Let the record show that Assemblyman Gusciora is lacking most or all of the sensation in his nuts."

[prettylites2011]

04:53 PM on 02/02/2012

This man is one of the worst governors that the state of New Jersey has ever had.

[Del Ham]

10:04 PM on 02/02/2012

Only if you inhabit the palace of State St.

[Hard Head Heffa]

02:20 PM on 02/02/2012

Just send him a coupon for a whopper special, he will be fine.

[Adonijah]

08:41 PM on 02/01/2012

Umm, nevermind......

quietly exits the room......

[Kali03]

11:03 PM on 02/01/2012

Me, too.

[Adonijah]

09:23 AM on 02/02/2012

LOL!

Great minds.....

[Neico]

07:14 PM on 02/01/2012

LOL....Christie apologized one way or another did not he?

He's supposed to be a tough guy, but I guess he was just full of hot air.

[Wrongway62]

06:14 PM on 02/01/2012

Chris Christie, what more does anyone need to say about him?

[Deborah Brouhard]

05:09 PM on 02/01/2012

Ever notice that now all the racist white folk have become experts in the civil rights struggle? Notice how they "know" that other racist would have voted to give black people all the rights they enjoyed? Does that make any sense to any logical thinking person? It's too bad the American school system has failed so miserably as evidence from the comments so many politicians make. No matter what was hoped for in the past with regard to education being the tool to eradicate racism, educated or not, racist will always exist--you cannot educate it out of them. The sad part is that even with their racist views, they get elected.

[Hard Head Heffa]

02:51 PM on 02/02/2012

I agree with you totally. The sad part is, they live amongst us. But just remember, God has the last word, and that is a FACT! And as far as they "know" this and that, it is a part of them. They "appear" to know it all. I wonder why black folk are often imitated by them?

[Wanda Glass]

10:20 AM on 02/04/2012

What I've really started to notice especially this election year is that the ones that have the biggest problems with ANY civil rights for ANY group, suddenly become the "expert" on it. It's like they cannot except any other group than their own, having equal rights in this country, yet try to "explain" it in their own twisted mind. So, like Christie; open mouth...insert foot.

[haval2]

04:56 PM on 02/01/2012

Wash he raised by wolves too ... there's no "but" in an apology. The crass GOP has a disconnect with their manners even though they think they are so elite.

[pleasantlyny]

03:54 PM on 02/01/2012

he called a guy numb nutz for saying that the white segregationist in the south were in favor of voting on civil rights also.... just like christie....

so telling the truth is a problem now?

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:13 PM on 02/01/2012

For Republicans it certainly seems to be.

[Adonijah]

08:39 PM on 02/01/2012

..agree!

[MsLMPride]

03:31 PM on 02/01/2012

Editors, the title of this article should say Christie apologizes, not Christie apologies.

[PeterinSydney]

02:41 PM on 02/01/2012

Mr Governor there is only one numb nuts.