Chris Christie’s Gay Nomination

Courtesy of the Mayor's Office of Chatham

Yesterday, it was announced that Bruce Harris, the mayor of Chatham, N.J., will now serve on the state’s Supreme Court. The gay Republican was nominated by Gov. Chris Christie.

For New Jersey, the nomination makes history. Not only is Harris the first openly gay person to serve on the state’s Supreme Court, but he’s also the third African-American to do so.

Christie – who says he’s against legalizing same-sex marriage, which is being hotly debated in the Garden State right now – is even receiving praise from the state’s LGBT rights organization over the nomination.

“Governor Christie called me on my cell phone to tell me he is nominating Bruce Harris to the New Jersey Supreme Court,” says Steve Goldstein, chair and CEO of Garden State Equality. “As I told the governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor.”

In a statement about the nomination, Goldstein praises both the governor and Harris. He also admits that the administration has been responsive over LGBT issues, like the passage of the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, the strongest legislation of its kind in the nation.

“Today, the governor has made civil rights history, and on behalf of all of us at Garden State Equality,” says Goldstein, “I extend to him our most profound appreciation.”