NEW JERSEY GOV CHRISTIE: "PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO HAVE A REFERENDUM ON CIVIL RIGHTS."
THINK PROGRESS, January 26, 2012 -- ov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) defended his call for a ballot referendum on marriage equality, suggesting that the majority should vote on the rights of the minority.
“The fact of the matter is,” Christie argued, “I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.”
Christie opposes marriage rights for same-s*x couples and has promised to veto a proposed bill legalizing same-s*x marriage.
UPDATE:
New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver, the first African American female to hold that post, responds “Gov. Christie better sit down with some of New Jersey’s great teachers for a history lesson, because his puzzling comment shows a complete misunderstanding about the civil rights movement… It’s impossible to ever conceive that a referendum on civil rights in the South would have been successful and brought justice to minorities. It’s unfathomable to even suggest a referendum would have been the better course.”
“The fact of the matter is,” Christie argued, “I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.”
Christie opposes marriage rights for same-s*x couples and has promised to veto a proposed bill legalizing same-s*x marriage.
UPDATE:
New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver, the first African American female to hold that post, responds “Gov. Christie better sit down with some of New Jersey’s great teachers for a history lesson, because his puzzling comment shows a complete misunderstanding about the civil rights movement… It’s impossible to ever conceive that a referendum on civil rights in the South would have been successful and brought justice to minorities. It’s unfathomable to even suggest a referendum would have been the better course.”
Really???
What happens when civil rights issues are put to majority vote by the citizens of a state?
New Jersey tried that in 1915. The Civil Rights issue at the time was: should women be allowed to vote.
The result: 20% of New Jersey voters agreed to permit women to vote. The measure failed.