Chris Christie Talks Gay Marriage Veto With Piers Morgan

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sat down with Piers Morgan to talk about his opposition to gay marriage in an interview to air Tuesday night.

The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill to legalize gay marraige on Thursday, and Christie made good on his vow to veto it Friday, encouraging the Legislature to leave the decision up to voters.

"Let's put it on the ballot, and let's let people decide," he tells Morgan. "And if the people of New Jersey – as some of the same-sex marriage advocates suggest the polls indicate – are in favor of it, then my position would not be the winning position. But I'm willing to take that risk, because I trust the people of the state."

Morgan goes on to ask Christie, a practicing Catholic, whether he would ever change his personal views.

"I would not compromise my principles for politics," Christie says. "You're saying 'will it become politically unpopular to have the position I'm having.' If it does, so be it. I don't compromise my principles for politics."

After vetoing the bill, Christie released a statement:

I am adhering to what I've said since this bill was first introduced – an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide. I continue to encourage the Legislature to trust the people of New Jersey and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents a profoundly significant societal change. This is the only path to amend our State Constitution and the best way to resolve the issue of same-sex marriage in our state.

I have been just as adamant that same-sex couples in a civil union deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples – as well as the strict enforcement of those rights and benefits. Discrimination should not be tolerated and any complaint alleging a violation of a citizen's right should be investigated and, if appropriate, remedied. To that end, I include in my conditional veto the creation of a strong Ombudsman for Civil Unions to carry on New Jersey's strong tradition of tolerance and fairness.

New Jersey lawmakers have until January 2014 to override the veto, which would require the support of two-thirds of the lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate.

'Piers Morgan Tonight' airs Tuesday at 9 pm EST.

Comments

[TennantRules]

02:58 AM on 03/30/2013

Aren't you all a forward thinking bunch? Chris Christie doesn't share your position on the issue, so you go right into fat jokes and calling him a bigot. Very open minded of you, particularly since you're supposedly liberals and should therefore be accepting of large people such as the Governor. It doesn't make him a homophobe that he doesn't share your belief on this issue, as he doesn't have to fear gays to oppose gay marriage. I don't know why you all don't get that, but whatever.

[TennantRules]

02:32 AM on 03/30/2013

There's no "right to marry" in the Constitution, so I don't see the civil rights issue. Historically, marriage has always been about the legitimacy of children and inheritance rights. Consider Henry VIII, for example. Today some want to redefine marriage to include gays, but where are these people on the "rights" of transsexual women? We're clearly not ready to redefine gender based on the treatment these people get from the very LGBT community that supposedly includes them, to say nothing of society at large, including people who support gay marriage. Good luck finding a gay person who has anything good to say about the transsexual community, and among heterosexuals of either gender just saying the word transsexual is a joke. At the same time, they have been targeted and killed just as gays have, though without the attendant media coverage oddly enough or the public outcry. One is not less of a bigot for being accepting of Jews only to discriminate against Asians. Slacktivists push "equality" for all when they're only willing to go as far as their biases allow or as far as their knowledge of social issues go, redefining things to their liking and the liking of the neighbor living on the left even as they ignore the rest of the street. Cherrypicking whatever cause of the month least offends our delicate sensibilities? In these modern times, that's pitifully American.

[riseaboveit]

10:14 PM on 03/05/2012

it sounds reasonable to leave it to the voters, but Christie's motive is much more cynical. Basic rights are enshrined in the Constitution and should not be left to a popular vote. Several Southern states would not have permitted civil rights legislation if it had been left to popular vote. Dr. King said, "it may be true that the law can't change the heart but it can restrain the heartless." Amen.

[Lorenzo Ramsey]

01:08 PM on 01/09/2013

Outstanding comment,

[Debmarie]

11:54 AM on 03/02/2012

Where is it written that being a homosexual and committing unnatural acts is a civil right? The people are the ones who should decide what is right for their state....no one else.

[itcouldbejesse]

09:39 PM on 11/08/2012

No, everyone has a right to equality, and it's people like you who obstruct the path to progress and true liberty. Technology is unnatural and yet it's an integral part of everyone's lives now. Just because something seems foreign or unnatural to you doesn't mean it's wrong. Homosexuals will eventually have the right to marry, just as we do. And I'm glad I'm on the right side of history.

[BUMbO]

10:23 AM on 02/29/2012

Does Christie really think that a civil rights issue should be put up for a vote? When the majority votes on civil rights for the minority, no one wins.

[Sophist FCD]

03:53 AM on 02/29/2012

You guys are being to hard on Christie. He's just a deeply traditional man who believes very strongly that marriage is a sacred bond between one man and as many pies as he can eat in one sitting. Is that so wrong?

[Vardi]

04:45 PM on 02/27/2012

Separate your Religion from your Politics. That is a big problem. This is about rights, not religion. Basic Human Rights.

[Michael Wickler]

07:15 PM on 02/23/2012

The last time New Jersey held a referendum on a civil rights issue was for women's suffrage, and it didn't pass. The California prop 8 referendum was a complete waste of time and resources, and was shameful. This lesson has already been learned, Chris.

[dinercat]

07:57 AM on 02/23/2012

I don't understand the argument against gay marriage from a logical point of view.

How does two people of the same sex who are living together anyway hurt society in general or me in particular if they can be married legally?

What marriage gives them is equal rights in terms of inheritance and being able to be covered on the other person's health insurance at work and things like that.

[umish]

03:46 AM on 02/23/2012

Christie was voting his religion instead of his responsibility to the citizens of NJ, Look closely at Christie.. this is what you will get if you elect an evangelicanl christion, morman or santorum to the white house.. the vatican in the back seat, the elders of Utah or worse. THey promote bigotry and hatred and foster discrimination.... might as well have slaves again if the poeple of NJ vote to have them....

[Muirwoods]

11:04 PM on 03/02/2012

Christie wasn't voting his religion, he was voting his chance at a VP nomination this summer. Conservatives would never let him get the VP nomination if he signed off on gay marriage.

[Steve Brewer II]

02:34 AM on 02/23/2012

He could have really simplified his explanation by saying "I am a bigot who is seeking a VP nomination".

[bb42495]

11:26 PM on 02/22/2012

I like this guy, I can understand just sticking with civil unions though i strongly prefer marriage and i respect that he hasn't allowed politics to change him

[BUMbO]

10:27 AM on 02/29/2012

And he didn't learn a thing from the lessons of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. If we had left it up to voters, we would not have the civil rights act and we'd be under Jim Crowe right now. This is why we have several forms of law-making, not just popular election.

[jcabowers]

11:26 PM on 02/22/2012

Rights are rights. They can never be the subject of a popular vote. If racial integration had been put up to a popular vote in the South in the 50's, it would have be resoundlingly defeated. Our leaders and our courts had to take the lead to rectify racial injustice. Our leaders and our courts can help us do so now as well in the area of gay rights.

[TennantRules]

02:37 AM on 03/30/2013

Please stop with the racial comparison. As a black person, I find it highly offensive, and you're black friends would tell you the same if they could be bothered. The rights that black people fought for were guaranteed in the Constitution and were accorded to us by virtue of being recognized as human beings and citizens. This has nothing to do with public voting on gay marriage at all.

[Dyn Llwyn]

11:16 PM on 02/22/2012

On February 17th, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill passed by the legislature to legalize gay marriage. He wants a public referendum to resolve the issue.
In 1915 New Jersey had another referendum, that time to give women the right to vote. The men of New Jersey defeated it. Five years later, the New Jersey legislature rattified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
Referendums should not used to determine civil rights.

[Lz133]

09:55 PM on 02/22/2012

just hoping he never runs for president

[Ioan Lightoller]

10:22 PM on 02/22/2012

Amen to that. The only thing worse woud be even the thought of Santorum as POTUS.

[Luke Kingma]

01:50 PM on 05/08/2012

Because no democratic candidate could possibly take him on in a one-on-one debate?