A new poll suggests that New Jersey voters’ support for marriage equality has reach a new high, but that two-thirds of voters want to decide the measure at the ballot box, rather than allow the state legislature to make the change.
A Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday reveals that 57 percent of registerd voters would support same-sex marriage, an increase of 5 percentage points from Quinnipiac’s last poll conducted in January.
The survey also indicated that voters were evenly divided on whether Gov. Chris Christie was right to veto the gay marriage bill that the legislature approved last month. Forty-eight percent supported Christie’s veto, while 47 percent opposed it.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they favored Christie’s suggestion of holding statewide ballot referrendum to determine whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey.
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“You don’t put the civil rights of a minority up to a vote of the majority,” said Steven Goldstein, Chairman of Garden State Equality, in a statement.
“The last time New Jersey did that was in 1915, when a statewide referendum was held to determine whether women should have the right to vote. 58 percent voted no, and 42 percent voted yes,” he said.