“I do not support same sex marriage … and I would not sign a bill if it came to my desk.”

The words of candidate Chris Christie during the past gubernatorial debates could not be a clearer indicator of how Gov.-elect Christie will lead our state.

There will always be those who hold prejudices against their fellow citizens, hiding their contempt in a confusing lexicon of vague words: “tradition,” “preservation” and the incredibly ironic “liberty” are usually the most egregious offenders of common sense and barriers to clear discourse.

But to hear such an outright dismissal of the possibility of equal gay rights through legitimate democratic processes is all too common today.

Christie ran on a platform of change, but none of his economic policies matter when he subscribes to an idea so anti-egalitarian, so dismissive and so abhorrent that he would be willing to deny basic civil rights to his fellow N.J. residents.

Gov. Jon Corzine openly supports gay marriage and civil rights. In December 2006, N.J. became the third state in the country to legalize same-sex civil unions. If elected again, he promised to work for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

There is no doubt that Christie’s election will effect the state’s civil rights movement. Should gays in N.J. now have to worry about keeping the rights they gained under Corzine?

If Christie wants to live up to his campaign promises of less government intervention in people’s lives (a claim that is so fundamental to modern conservatism), then he needs to drop his stance on vetoing any gay marriage bill that would come out of the legislature.

The governorship is neither a place to be a theologian or a moralist — it’s a position to lead the state.

Additionally, those that will inevitably make the claim that gay marriage is a redefinition of marriage are completely right — it is.

Just as the 1967 Supreme Court decision redefined marriage as legal between people of two races, so will the future bill that comes out of our State Assembly to redefine marriage as legal between people of the same sex.

If you want your leader to chose whether you can or cannot have the right to marry who you wish, you will probably enjoy the next four years.

However, if you believe the rights of true freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to be fundamental to our State, then I urge you to follow your conscience towards fighting for total and absolute equality in New Jersey.

Jonah Nelson