Could New Jersey be the first state to approve marriage equality via voter referendum?
A new Quinnipiac poll shows strong support for both the referendum and marriage equality:
Support for same-sex marriage in New Jersey climbs to a new high, 57 – 37 percent, but voters split 48 – 47 percent on whether Gov. Christopher Christie did the right thing in vetoing same- sex marriage legislation, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Voters support 67 – 28 percent Gov. Christie's proposal to let them decide the same-sex marriage issue by placing it on the ballot for a November referendum, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds.
Support for same-sex marriage is 61 – 32 percent among women and 51 – 44 percent among men. White Catholics support the move 52 – 43 percent while white Protestants are opposed 50 – 42 percent. Voters who attend religious services weekly oppose same-sex marriage 54 – 39 percent while those who attend services less frequently support the measure 66 – 29 percent.
Andrew Sullivan wonders if Christie may have played his cards right:
"If marriage equality wins, he can say democracy worked, while touting his veto to the fundamentalist base should he run for president one day (as I hope he does). He could also use the vote to embrace marriage equality himself and tell his own party to get over their increasingly anachronistic obsession with keeping the gays in their second-class place. But I may be letting my hopes overwhelm reality here."
