Even in deep blue New Jersey, pro-gay marriage Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) doesn't want a bill introduced by one of his fellow Democrats calling for a vote of the people on marriage to proceed. Presumably it’s because he fears he will lose such a public vote:
Sen. President Steve Sweeney today reiterated his position that he does not believe same sex marriage is an issue for voters to decide.
Sweeney was responding to a bill introduced by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora that would place the issue on the ballot next November.
"I have firmly stated before and will say again now that I do not believe you put civil rights on the ballot, period. It is the job of elected officials to ensure that everyone is provided equal protection and equal rights under the law. We should not hide from that responsibility...we should embrace it," Sweeney said in a statement. "We gave the governor an opportunity to ensure true marriage equality in this state, just as other states and nations have done. He punted by shamelessly issuing a conditional veto. I fully plan on overriding that veto before this legislative session is done."
Earlier this year the Legislature passed a measure legalizing same sex marriage, however the bill was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie who said at the time the state should let voters decide.
While Sweeney voted in favor of the latest iteration of the "marriage equality" bill, he was not always so inclined. When the measure came before the Legislature in 2009, Sweeney abstained from the vote. He later called it the worst decision of his political career. -- PolitickerNJ
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