Immigration In December 2013, Christie signed legislation allowing unauthorized immigrants who attend high school for at least three years in New Jersey and graduate to be eligible for the resident rates at state college and universities and community colleges.
Abortion Early in his political career, Christie stated in an interview that "I would call myself … a kind of a non-thinking pro-choice person, kind of the default position". In 2009, Christie identified himself as
anti-abortion, but stated that he would not use the governor's office to "force that down people's throats", while still expressing support for banning "
partial-birth abortion",
parental notification, and a 24-hour waiting period. He does support legal access to abortion in cases of rape, incest, or if the woman's life is in danger. In 2014, campaigning in
Alabama for incumbent governor
Robert Bentley, Christie stated that he was the first "pro-life governor" elected in New Jersey since
Roe v. Wade in 1973. He also stated that he had vetoed funding for
Planned Parenthood five times as governor.
LGBT rights As governor, Christie opposed
same-sex marriage but voiced support for New Jersey's
civil union law, which extended to gay couples the same legal benefits of marriage with regards to state law. Christie indicated in 2009 that he would veto any bill legalizing
same-sex marriage in the state, The issue was rendered moot shortly thereafter by a
state court decision, in which the judge stated New Jersey was "... violating the mandate of Lewis and the New Jersey Constitution's equal protection guarantee". The Christie administration responded by asking the state Supreme Court to grant a
stay of the decision pending appeal, which was denied on October 18, 2013, in a 7–0 decision of the court which stated that it could "find no public interest in depriving a group of New Jersey residents of their constitutional right to equal protection while the appeals process unfolds". Three days later Christie withdrew the state's appeal. Christie believes that homosexuality is innate, having said, "If someone is born that way, it's very difficult to say then that that's a sin." On August 19, 2013, Christie signed a bill outlawing
gay conversion therapy for children, making New Jersey the second state to institute such a law. The law was challenged in the courts, with Christie, in his official capacity as governor, named an appellee. In September 2014, a panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, saying it did not violate free speech or religious rights.
Social Security and Medicare In a speech at the
New Hampshire Institute of Politics on April 14, 2015, Christie proposed significant reforms to federal benefit programs. The proposals included reductions of Social Security benefits for high-income seniors, an expansion of means testing for Medicare recipients, and an increase in the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare. Christie indicated that his proposals would not affect existing retirees or those close to retirement. Christie proposed comprehensive federal entitlement reforms, stating: "In the short term, it is growing the deficit and slowly but surely taking over all of government. In the long term, it will steal our children's future and bankrupt our nation." Christie's proposals would add means testing for Social Security benefits starting with those who make more than $80,000 per year in non-Social Security income and phasing out Social Security benefits entirely for those with more than $200,000 in other income annually. Similarly, Christie's proposals would increase the sliding scale of means testing for Medicare such that seniors with $85,000 in annual income would pay 40% of premium costs and those with more than $196,000 in annual income would pay 90% of premium costs. He also proposed raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits by two months each year starting in 2022, until the retirement age reaches 69. He would likewise raise the age for early retirement from 62 to 64. In addition, he proposed raising the eligibility age for Medicare by one month each year so that seniors would be eligible for benefits at 67 years of age in 2040 and 69 years of age in 2064. Christie also stated: "Here's what you'll learn about me. I have been talking about the growth of entitlements as a big problem, at both the state and federal levels, for a number of years. Not because it is politically popular, but because it is true."
Supreme Court justices In 2009, Christie said of
Sonia Sotomayor: "I support her appointment to the Supreme Court and urge the Senate to keep politics out of the process and confirm her nomination. Qualified appointees should be confirmed and deserve bi-partisan support. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito deserved that support based on their work as Circuit Court Judges. So does Judge Sotomayor. As a result, I support her confirmation. This is a historic moment and her inspiring success story should not only make the Latino community proud, but all Americans." In response to the 2015
Supreme Court rulings regarding the
Affordable Health Care Act (
King v. Burwell) and
same-sex marriage in the United States (
Obergefell v. Hodges), Christie said that the outcomes would have been different if the court had more
Christie type judges on the bench. Christie also said "If you want to know the kind of justices to the Supreme Court that a President Christie would pick, you need to look at one seat on the Supreme Court, and that's the seat of judge
Sam Alito."
Prison reform Christie supported changes in the criminal justice system which address disparities in sentencing, particularly for non-violent and drug-related crimes. He acknowledges racial disparities in sentencing.
Israel–Palestine In March 2014, Christie gave a foreign policy speech to the
Republican Jewish Coalition also attended by other Republican presidential hopefuls. In it, Christie said that everyone he met in Israel during his visit, wanted America to be an "unblinking, unwavering unquestioning friend" but worried that this was no longer true. He said that he is in the business to win elections and not just arguments, saying "If we want to just have arguments and stand for nothing, we could just form a university." Christie said he was overwhelmed by displays of religious tolerance during his recent trip to
Jerusalem and used the term "occupied territories" in reference to lands in dispute. Christie later apologized for the remark, which is rejected by some conservative
Zionists and other supporters of Israel who see it as validating
Palestinian views.
Planned Parenthood As governor, In 2010 Christie vetoed $7.5 million in funding for family planning clinics, including
Planned Parenthood, saying the money was duplicative and unaffordable. He vetoed the funding four more times in following years. Christie had repeatedly stated the decision was financial and not one based on his beliefs. In February 2015 he stated. "I'm
pro-life, I ran as a pro-life candidate in 2009 unapologetically, spoke at the pro-life rally on the steps of the Statehouse -- the first governor to ever speak at a pro-life rally on the steps of the Statehouse -- and vetoed Planned Parenthood funding five times out of the New Jersey budget." "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations", Christie was quoted saying in
The Star-Ledger on September 30, 1994. In 2016, Christie said: "Well I never donated to Planned Parenthood…", Christie claims he was misquoted.
NSA domestic surveillance and national security Christie supported the
collection of metadata of phone calls of American citizens and denizens by the
National Security Agency. Christie had cited his tenure as federal prosecutor to gain credibility with fighting terrorism. as a centerpiece of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. "We prosecuted two of the biggest terrorism cases in the world and stopped Fort Dix from being attacked by six American radicalized Muslims from a mosque in New Jersey because we worked with the Muslim American community to get intelligence and we used the Patriot Act to get other intelligence to make sure we did those cases", Christie said. Those cases on his watch and his claims are a source of continuing controversy. with regard to the use of undercover sting operations and informants. National security experts say that other than in two cases, the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey under Christie had no apparent role in any high-level international terror investigation while he headed the office, stating, "When it comes to terrorism prosecutions, of the 320 total convictions since 9/11. Christie has prosecuted only a couple, and both were FBI informant cases—not international terrorist plots, or even the most serious cases we have see."
Firearms In June 2015, Christie said; "I know there's a lot of perception about my view on gun rights because I'm from New Jersey and because the laws are the way they are, but
these laws were being made long before I was governor and no new ones have been made since I've been governor. During his term as governor Christie has vetoed some proposed legislation, re-written others, and signed on bills regulating firearms. Christie was not invited to attend the NRA convention in April 2016. Christie has defined his changing positions on gun control as "evolving".
The New York Times has called it pandering. On January 16, 2016, Christie said: I don't support background checks for every gun sale.
Fiscal policy As Governor of New Jersey, Christie had received grades of B in 2012 and B in 2014 from the
Cato Institute, a
libertarian think tank, in their biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors.
Syrian refugees On November 16, Christie was interviewed by conservative radio host
Hugh Hewitt and stated that his state would not take in Syrian refugees, including orphaned toddlers. In October 2014, Christie said "I've said before that if there comes a time when the U.S. needs to take some refugees that we should.". In January 2016, he said, "I said right from the beginning we should take no Syrian Refugees of any kind." ==Endorsements==