Same-sex 'Marriage' Passes New Jersey Legislature

GOP Gov. Chris Christie says he will veto the so-called "gay marriage" bill that passed both the state senate and assembly by wide margins this week -- both houses are controlled by Democrats.

“He won’t veto the bill because he’s anti-gay. He’ll veto the bill because the 2016 South Carolina presidential primary electorate is anti-gay.”
-- Steven Goldstein, Chairman, Garden State Equality (New Jersey’s largest homosexualist group)

For background, read New Jersey Civil Unions Not Enough, Say Gays, Judge Agrees

UPDATE 2/17/12: Governor vetoes bill

-- From "Gay marriage bill delivered to NJ governor, who has vowed to veto it" by The Associated Press 2/17/12

Christie — and most Republican lawmakers — want the issue decided by public vote. One GOP lawmaker, Sen. Kip Bateman of Somerset, has proposed a ballot question asking voters to allow same-sex nuptials. However, Democrats who control the Legislature maintain that gay marriage is a civil right protected by the U.S. Constitution and isn’t subject to popular vote.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "N.J. Assembly approves measure, Christie vows veto" by Tina Susman and Ian Duncan, Los Angeles Times 2/16/12

One lawmaker, Democrat Cleopatra Tucker, said that as a deaconess in her church, she had "struggled over this. ...I really had problems and struggled with this."

But she said she had decided to support the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act. "This bill today is not a religious issue. It's a civil rights issue," she said.

The bill now goes to Christie, presumably to be vetoed. Lawmakers have until the end of the legislative session in January 2014 to muster enough votes to override a veto.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Gay GOP group asks Christie not to veto same-sex marriage" by Tim Mak, Politico 2/17/12

Log Cabin Republicans – a gay and lesbian Republican group – called upon New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday not to veto the same-sex marriage bill passed by the state legislature.

Log Cabin deputy executive director Christian Berle told POLITICO that despite his forthcoming veto, Christie has a generally good track record on gay rights

“We call for him to support this bipartisan piece of legislation. Gov. Christie has had a forward-leaning approach to many issues - he’s a full supporter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, civil unions, and he appointed an openly gay justice to the state Supreme Court,” Berle said. “With that track record, the logical step would be to support the freedom to marry in the Garden State.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Romney Wins Big with Florida Homosexual (Log Cabin) Republicans

NJ Gov. Vetos Funding Planned Parenthood

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed restoration of $7.5 million of family planning funds that he'd previously cut from the state budget.

UPDATE 11/24/10: State Assembly still short votes to override veto

UPDATE 9/21/10: Governor's veto sustained by Senate

UPDATE 7/28/10: Mainstream media reacts to funding cuts

-- From "Gov. Christie vetoes bill restoring $7.5M grant for family planning" by Susan K. Livio, Statehouse Bureau, The Star-Ledger 7/24/10

Democrats who control the Legislature said they are weighing whether to seek an override on the bills, which would require 54 votes in the 80-member Assembly and 27 in the 40-member Senate.

Although Christie said he opposed family planning bill purely on budgetary grounds, his decision is likely to stoke an ongoing ideological debate among conservative Republicans on whether the state ought to financially support clinics run by Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and birth control — an issue brought up several times by Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris), the Republican state Committee chairman.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "New Jersey Governor Christie Vetoes Bill Sending Millions to Planned Parenthood" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 7/23/10

The funds go to 58 family planning clinics but Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain, runs 29 of the facilities.

Christie thinks there's little reason to send the abortion centers $7.5 million when the state currently faces an $11 billion deficit.

"Reproductive health care services will continue to be available in each of New Jersey's 21 counties, including Planned Parenthood clinics, local health department clinics, standing free clinics, and hospital-based clinics," he said.

Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, told LifeNews.com this afternoon, "For far too long and without voter approval, NJ taxpayers were forced to fund Planned Parenthood in the state budget under 'family planning services.'"

"Despite assertions to the contrary from some lawmakers that none of the money will be used for abortion, the funds will be used for abortion because these centers have the mutual financial advantage of referring pregnant clients to one of the three “Planned Parenthood/family planning” centers that perform abortion," she said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Hawaii Governor Vetoes Civil-Unions Bill

After weeks of lobbying and political maneuvering, the governor of the Aloha State vetoed a controversial measure Tuesday that would allow same-sex and unwed heterosexual couples the same protections under the law that married couples have.

-- From "Hawaii Governor Vetoes Civil-Unions Bill" by Suzanne Roig, Time Magazine 7/7/10

. . . Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle delivered the news everyone had been waiting for when she announced she had vetoed the bill, citing a "flawed" legal process by which the measure was approved by state lawmakers 31 to 20 on the last day of the legislative session in April. Lingle, a 57-year-old Republican and Hawaii's first woman governor, said she felt lawmakers had denied the public the right to weigh in on the issue with their 11th-hour voting, and she recommended that the bill go to a national vote. Due to leave office in December after serving her two terms, Lingle had until Tuesday to sign the contentious measure into law, veto it or let it be approved without her signature.

"After months of listening to Hawaii's citizens express to me in writing and in person their deeply held beliefs and heartfelt reasons for supporting or opposing the civil-unions bill, I have made the decision to veto the bill," Lingle said in a press conference at the Capitol building that was streamed live online. "I have been open and consistent to my opposition to same-gender marriage and find that the bill is essentially marriage by another name. My personal opinion is not the basis for my decision ... Neither is my veto based on my religious beliefs ... I am vetoing this bill because I have become convinced that this issue is of such of societal importance that it deserves to be decided by all the people in Hawaii."

The bill would have given the same rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union. All couples would have been allowed to enter into a civil union — a legal contract — provided they were 18 or older, not related and not already married.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Nevada 17th State to Recognize Same-sex Couples

Despite the citizens' 2002 constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, the state Assembly overrode the governor's veto on the bill giving legal rights to domestic partners.

-- From "With veto override, domestic partners bill becomes law" by Cy Ryan posted at the Las Vegas Sun 5/31/09

[Gov. Jim Gibbons], in his veto message, said the voters in 2002 felt “the right of marriage should apply only to married couples, only the voters should determine whether those rights should equally apply to domestic partners.”

Voters approved that amendment 337,197 to 164,573.

Senate Bill 283 provides domestic partners the same rights in such things as community property responsibility for debt to third parties and the right to seek financial support if they split up.

The vote was 28-14, the bare minimum needed to overturn the decision of the governor. It follows the 14-7 vote in the Senate Saturday and puts the bill into law.

The partners, whether of the same or opposite sex, would register with the Secretary of State’s Office for legal recognition. And if they split, they would file dissolution of the registration.

The bill says domestic partners have the same rights, protections and benefits that are ranged or imposed upon spouses.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Obama Cabinet Pick Vetos Partial-birth Abortion Restrictions

[Kansas pro-lifers] backed the bill and were watching [Gov.] Sebelius' action closely as she awaits U.S. Senate confirmation as federal health and human services secretary.

-- From "Late-term abortions bill vetoed in Kansas" The Associated Press 4/23/09

The bill would have required physicians to report additional information to the state about the late-term abortions they perform, and would have allowed more county prosecutors to pursue criminal charges over potentially illegal late-term procedures.

Also, doctors could have faced lawsuits if their patients later believed a late-term abortion violated the law. A woman's husband or a girl's parent or guardian also could have filed a lawsuit.

In a veto message to legislators, Sebelius argued that doctors could have faced criminal prosecution even if they tried to comply with the law. She said that would "lead to the intimidation of health care providers and reduce access to comprehensive health care for women, even when it is necessary to preserve their lives and health."

Sebelius' veto came as anti-abortion and other conservative groups have stepped up their pressure on senators to reject her nomination.

Before the veto, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued a statement saying "significant questions" remained about Sebelius' stance on late-term abortions.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Pres. Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem-Cell Bill, Promotes Ethical Research

From "Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem-Cell Bill, Promotes Ethical Research" by Wendy Cloyd, posted 6/20/07 at Citizenlink.org

President Bush announced his veto today of S.5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, passed by Congress this month. The legislation would have forced taxpayers to pay for research using stem cells taken from destroyed human embryos.

During the ceremony in the East Room of the White House, he also issued an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to promote research that does not destroy life.

Bush said his duty as president is to ensure that stem-cell research is ethically responsible, such as using adult stem cells.

"This careful approach is producing results," he said. "It has contributed to proven therapeutic treatments in thousands of patients with many different diseases. It's opening the prospect of new discoveries that could transform lives."

He said his executive order will make it more likely that such advances continue and will support his policy of advancing stem-cell research "in a way that is ambitious, ethical and effective."

"Congress has sent me a bill that would overturn this policy," Bush said. "If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers – for the first time in our history – to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.

"I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line. Last year, Congress passed a similar bill. I kept my promise by vetoing it. And today, I'm keeping my word again: I am vetoing the bill that Congress has sent."

Read the rest of this article.

Pres. Bush Set to Veto Embryonic Stem Cell Funding Bill

From "President Bush Responds to Passage of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill" by Steven Ertelt, posted 4/12/07, at OneNewsNow.com

President Bush responded to the Senate's approval Wednesday of a bill that would force taxpayers to pay for embryonic stem cell research even though it requires the destruction of human life. He confirmed a statement the White House issued on his behalf earlier this week saying he would veto the bill.

The president said "the advancement of science and medicine need not conflict with the ethical imperative to protect every human life."

Saying he was a "strong supporter of scientific research," President Bush pointed out that his administration was the first to provide federal funding for stem cell research.

Overall, more than $3 billion has gone to innovative research on all forms of stem cells under the Bush administration, contributing to proven medical treatments that use human stem cells from adult and other non-embryonic sources.

"While encouraging -- not banning -- research, my policy also ensures that federal funds are not used to create incentives to destroy, or harm, or create living human embryos for purposes of research," he explained.

Contact Pres. Bush and thank him for his courageous stand for life.

Read the rest of this article.