Saturday, February 18, 2012

Opinion: Should same-gender marriage be decided by referendum, legislative action, or the courts?

By Ricardo Lopez
February 17, 2012, 4:21 p.m.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie followed through on his word Friday, vetoing a gay marriage bill passed by the state’s legislature a day earlier.


“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," Christie said in a statement.






Christie is urging the legislature to put the measure on the ballot in the form of a referendum.



“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,” he said.


Democrats were not surprised by the veto. Christie, a Republican, announced his intentions last month at a town hall meeting.


Yet Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, denounced the governor's action and vowed to work to override it.“Governor Christie's veto is a shameful act hidden behind the guise of a public referendum. Today, he firmly planted his feet on the wrong side of history,” he said in a statement.


“He had a chance to do the right thing, and failed miserably.”


New Jersey lawmakers now have until Jan. 2014 to muster a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to override the governor’s veto.Gay marriage supporters need three more votes in the Senate to override the veto. Senate Democrats passed the bill 24-16. The Assembly, which passed the bill 42-33, needs needs 14 more votes for a veto override.


On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled Assembly voted 42-33 in favor of gay marriage.


That vote came after emotional speeches from both sides on Thursday. Seven states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-christie-veto-20120217,0,1375226.story

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since same-sex marriage is such a controversial issue I believe that we must have a National ruling on it. I think the best way to solve this dilema would be for all 50 states to be in agreement. The only way I see that happening is if this is brought up to the Supreme Court. The best option is to let them decide how the U.S. should handle same-sex marriage.

neve57 said...

I agree with Matt. All fifty states should have a Yes or No vote on gay marriage. The Supreme Court is the only way to make this a fair and unbaised process.

ANichols said...

As Mr. B said earlier in class, the first person to comment usually gets the rest of the other comments to revolve around the first person's ideas. Therefore, I agree with Mr. Matt Boster in that homosexual marriage is a controversial issue. In my opinion, this would be the best way to do this; however, it is extremely unrealistic becasue it would be nearly impossible for all 50 states to agree on such a topic. Additionally, it would be the same way for abortion, each topic is equally controversial. Finally, like Boster said, the only way that this could ever happen is through a Supreme Court hearing. Overall, that is the most realistic way to apporach this issue, but in my eyes I never think it will happen.

J.Mason said...

I belive that each state should deside on which they would like to allow same sex marriage or not. And I belive that it should not be done by the courts or the government, but by the people and what they want, isnt that how the how the government is? "For the people, by the people" We as human beings are smart enough to make our own life choices in what we want to be right and what we want to be wrong.

J.Mason said...
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Chris DeWinter said...

I also agree with Matt I believe that the gay marriage issue should be decided by the supreme court so we can decide if gay marriage is constitutional. If the gay marriage issue is ruled on by the supreme court we can decide as a nation if gay marriage is allowed and set a president for up coming cases. If the supreme court rules on the gay marriage issue we may be able to stop the controversy on this topic.

Chris DeWinter said...
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Kelly M said...
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aspone said...

Same-gender marriage is a very controversial topic and should be decided by a referendum. It sould be left up to the people to decide whether or not it should become legal. If the people decide to legalize it, the issue can be brought up to the courts to determine if it is constitutional. I do not think that this should be left up to legislative action because it involves so many opinions.

Kelly M said...

I believe that a same sex marraige law should not have to be the same throughout every state. It is a very controversial topic and the people who live in the state should be able to vote on the issue.

APrichard said...

States should be allowed to decide whether they feel gay marriage is a constitutional abiding act in the U.S. This will then give an overall percentage of U.S. citizens that believe in marriage between not only heterosexuals but also homosexuals. With this basis an opinion can be created within the supreme court to set precedent for the United States.

sli said...

In my opinion, I think each state should have the right to decide whether same-gender marriage is legal or not because of the federalism.It can decided by referendum in state. Everyone gets chance to vote yes or no. Since this is a controversial topic and compromise must be made, the result would be there are some states that make same-gender marriage is legal and some states are not.

KKotecki said...

I think that the best way to resolve such a controversial issue would be through a referendum. However, for all 50 states to be in agreement would be nearly impossible because each state tends to lean towards a certain type of political ideology and therefore some are able to accept gay marriage much easier than others. Obviously, no matter what way the ruling would lean there would be people who are not happy. If there is a specific issue, it can be brought to court where the court can then make a ruling on same-gender marriage. Until then, the people should be able to vote for themselves.

jblommel said...

I think that the courts should decide the controversy over same-sex marriage because they are generally the most level headed people in the law making process. The average person tends to get very emotional over the issue, and a referendum would only reflect the majority opinion, which changes constantly and rapidly, on the day it was voted on. Also, legislators can often be swayed by money or whatever they think will keep them in office, which is the majority opinion of the day. The courts, with its justices more insulated from the whims of the majority, should be the most level-headed, clear thinking of the people in the law making process to make this decision.

Big Al said...

As I stated in class the supreme court and the national government should not be involved, the states should deciede. I do feel that the full faith and credit clause should be in effect. I am not for or against homosexual marriages. I understand that it is a controversial topic and to avoid large protests the method I suggested would be most effective. I feel it is unfair that homosexuals do not get fair marriage options. I fear if they did too many angry and violent protests would occur. I am aware it does not agree with the goal of the constitution to protect the minority, but I feel their would be imminent danger if gay marriage was nationally legal.

Sfrasher said...
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Sfrasher said...

I believe that the civilians of each individual state should decide, through a referendum, whether same-sex marriage is legal or not. Being that this issue is incredibly controversial, I believe that this is the only way to do this. I believe if this controversial topic went through the courts, a mass chaos would erupt throughout the country. This controversial issue is incredibly near and dear to many people’s hearts and I believe giving the power to nine justices to make an incredibly monumental decision is ludicrous. The states have a voice and they need to reinforce it with this issue.

Anonymous said...

I think such a controversial topic should be taken up to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the justices can decide on the best answer to the question of whether or not same-gender marriage is legal. I personally think it should be a nation-wide referendum but I am not sure if that would be possible or if it would accurately reflect the opinion of the country based on the people that are voting (mostly elderly)

jboyle said...

Gay Marriage is a very controversial issue. I believe that it should be up to each individual state on weather it should be legal or not. I believe this because of the system of federalism that this nation has.

jryan said...

It would definately have to be decided by the courts because the issue thrifts to closely to the 14th amendment to allow to become a referendum. Only experienced decision makers should decide on whether it should or shouldn't be allowed especially since the outcome of this will have a long term effect on society and its morals.

THaase said...

Same sex marriage is a very controversial issue, and i believe it should be deciced based upon a national referendum in which everyone collectivly could decide on the issue. An even stronger way to legalize the issue is to try to amend it to our constitution and make it the law of the land. Im not for it but also im not against it. The issue has little affect on my day to day life.

Andrew Salo said...

Although it would be ideal for this controversial issue to have a national standard, I do not see this as possible, because not all states will agree on this issue. I think that it is okay for the states to have their own laws on this issue, and I think it should be decided by what the people want.

Andrew Salo said...

Although it would be ideal for this controversial issue to have a national standard, I do not see this as possible, because not all states will agree on this issue. I think that it is okay for the states to have their own laws on this issue, and I think it should be decided by what the people want.

tFugarino said...

same sex marriage should be decided by the national courts. i feel this way because it is such a big issue and can play such a big part in some peoples lives.

Paige said...

I feel that the Supreme Court should decide this issue. America is supposedly about equality; The Supreme Court, with its history of land-mark decisions, has the best chance of solving this issue once and for all. ^^

TPassow said...

Same-gender marriages should be decided by the courts because of the high controversial attributes of the decisions that would be decided.

Unknown said...

In my personal opinion I believe that same-gender marriage should be decided as right or wrong by the courts. But in all fairness to the people, I think that the best option is by referendum. That way each state would have a law based on how the majority of the people in the state feel about same-gender marriage.