Chris Christie vs. Rand Paul: Where they stand on immigration, gay marriage, and othe
Chris Christie vs. Rand Paul: Where they stand on immigration, gay marriage, and other issues
By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 07, 2015 at 2:49 PM, updated April 07, 2015 at 6:22 PM
TRENTON - With U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky officially declaring today that he will run for president, here is a look at where he and Gov. Chris Christie — another potential Republican candidate for the White House — stand on key issues:
GUN CONTROL
Paul: He opposes gun control legislation, saying he supports the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Paul also received a perfect score from the Gun Owners of America.
Christie: He is governor of a state with the second-toughest gun laws in the nation. When state lawmakers passed a bill in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre that would have reduced the permitted size of high-capacity magazines, Christie vetoed the measure and refused to meet with the families of Sandy Hook victims. Still, Christie offered several changes to the state's mental health system, ultimately signing 11 pieces of gun violence and firearm-related mental health legislation.
IMMIGRATION
Paul: He has encouraged the GOP to abandon "amnesty," saying it keeps Republicans from compromising. But he had tried to block or undo immigration proposals introduced by others. In 2013, he voted against an immigration overhaul by U.S. Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Paul also introduced a bill aiming to undo President Obama's executive orders to delay deportation of some immigrants in the country illegally and has said Washington "can't invite the whole world" to the U.S.
Christie: He didn't comment for years on immigration, saying it is a federal topic. But earlier this year, as talk that he was running for president ramped up, Christie said the U.S. "should have a clear, legal, reliable guest worker program that folks in agriculture, and others, can rely upon, and that makes sense." He did caution that it would be just "once piece of an overall approach to try to fix an immigration system that clearly does not work any longer." And Christie last year signed the Dream Act, which allows the children of immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally to pay in-state tuition prices at New Jersey colleges. But last month, he joined a lawsuit against Obama's executive orders.
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY
Paul: Anchored by a libertarian ideology that often clashes with his fellow Republicans, Paul believes the U.S. should reduce its military presence overseas and opposes domestic surveillance programs. Still, he has begun to soften his stances as he preps a presidential campaign. Paul cited the rise of violence in the Middle East to call for a declaration of war against the Islamic State group, stressing that Congress alone has the constitutional power to declare war. In March, he also proposed an increase in military spending. And he drew support from some on the left as well as the right with a nearly 13-hour Senate speech about his opposition to U.S. policy on the use of military drones.
Christie: He and Paul famously traded words over national security in 2013. Asked about the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program during an interview, Christie invoked memories of Sept. 11 and said "this strain of libertarianism that's going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought. ... The next attack that comes, that kills thousands of Americans as a result, people are going to be looking back on the people having this intellectual debate." Paul shot back on Twitter: "Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional."
EDUCATION
Paul: He has strongly opposed controversial Common Core standards for English and math — which Kentucky, in 2010, was the first state to adopt. Paul says the standards show that local control of education is slipping away, even though each state must vote to adopt them. He has called Common Core a "hodgepodge of education theories" and "bureaucratic group think" that would collect massive amounts of data on school children for the government's "social indoctrination."
Christie: He initially defended Common Core. In 2013, Christie called it "one of those areas where I have agreed more with the president than not" and slammed Republican opposition to it as "a knee-jerk reaction" based on partisan politics. But recently, he has opposed it because of "the way the Obama administration has tried to implement it through tying federal funding to these things. And that changes the entire nature of it, from what was initially supposed to be voluntary-type system and states could decide on their own to now having federal money tied to it." He has also said he has "grave concerns" about the program and has appointed a commission to investigate whether the standards are right for New Jersey.
GAY MARRIAGE
Paul: He opposes a federal ban on same-sex marriage, saying each state should decide for themselves. Paul was recently criticized for a 2013 interview that resurfaced online in which he said he has never used the term "gay rights" because he doesn't believe "in rights based on your behavior." He also told pastors of a "moral crisis that allows people to think that there would be some other form of marriage."
Christie: The governor, a Catholic, has been steadfast in his position that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He vetoed two bills that would have legalized same-sex marriage in New Jersey and said it should be up to New Jersey voters instead. But in 2013, New Jersey courts stepped in. A state Superior Court ruled that New Jersey must begin allowed gay marriages and though Christie appealed, he dropped the fight when it appeared the state Supreme Court would rule against him.
ABORTION
Paul: He has backed legislation that sought to ban abortion. But he also upset some social conservatives by saying U.S. public opinion is too divided to change federal abortion laws.
Christie: He vetoed Planned Parenthood funding five times as governor. But he always maintained it was due to budgetary reasons or because the services could be found elsewhere in the community. Last month, though, Christie trumpeted his vetoes as proof of his anti-abortion credentials in a speech in front of a Republican crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Paul: Kentucky politicians are often loyal to the coal industry because the state is the U.S.'s third-largest coal producers. Paul has denounced the government's new emission regulations as part of President Obama's "war on coal." But he also says he supports some coal regulations. Amid the debate on whether to authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, Paul was one of 15 Republicans who voted for a measure that said humans contribute to the planet's global warming problems.
Christie: He has said that global warming is real and partly man-made. But in 2011, Christie pulled New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pact aimed reducing carbon pollution. He called the program "gimmicky" and ineffective.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Paul: He is different from most Republicans in the 2016 race on this issue. Paul wants to restore voting rights to nonviolent convicted felons, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, end the federal sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, and make it easier for people to expunge their criminal records. He has partnered with Democrats — including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — on most of those issues.
Christie: He actually mirrors Paul on this issue. Inspired by a former classmate at Seton Hall University School of Law who succumbed to prescription pill and alcohol abuse, Christie has long opposed mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders and has called the "War on Drugs" a failure. Last year, Christie expanded the state's voluntary prescription monitoring program to share New Jersey physicians' prescribing records with doctors and pharmacists in Delaware and New York to prevent people from "doctor shopping" in surrounding states. Still, Christie has stressed that the legalization of marijuana in New Jersey will "never" happen on his watch as governor.
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