Poll: Should NJ Law Allow Civil Marriage Equality?

Gov. . Specifically, he wants the issue of marriage equality put on the November ballot so that residents can decide whether their LGBT neighbors should, for the first time ever, be treated equally under state civil law.

Christie said it would take a three-fifths vote in the state legislature to get the issue onto the general election ballot. The governor, a well-known foe of marriage equality, added that if the General Assembly and Senate send him a pro-equality bill, he will veto it. If the voters approve equality, however, he said he will uphold their choice.

The governor made his wish known just days after NJ.com reported that a Quinnipiac poll, for the first time, showed that a majority of New Jerseyans support marriage equality. According to the survey, 52 percent of Garden State residents polled said they support equality; 42 percent said they did not.

What do you think? Do you believe that gay New Jersey couples—many of whom have or will have children—have the same right to civil marriage and family recognition as heterosexuals? Do you believe that civil marriage should only be extended to one man-one woman pairs? What about civil union, the in-between designation that some find an acceptable compromise, others consider new millennium Jim Crow and still others find just as unacceptable as so-called "gay marriage"?

We want to know your thoughts. Please take the poll below and amplify your ideas in the comments.

One note: Patch respects and appreciates all of its readers. We ask people on all sides to be thoughtful and sensitive in their answers. Having a religiously informed opinion does not mean other religious people hold the same views. Being victimized by anti-gay bigotry does not give license to retaliate against those with religious objections.

We are all human and we can all feel pain—whatever our viewpoints, let's try not to hurt one another. There already is and has been enough suffering surrounding this issue.

Editor's Note: This poll is posted on multiple Patch sites in Morris and Somerset counties. Please be aware that those voting and commenting may not be from your town.