Where Each Candidate For President of the U.S.
Stands on Gay Marriage

by Scott M. Williamson
Jan 9, 2008

Hillary Clinton: Clinton opposes same-sex marriage and favors civil unions but said she would not stand in the way if New York passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage. In the U.S. Senate, she opposed amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. While she has solicited and received the support of gay and lesbian groups, many gay activists were alarmed over her March 2007 comment that the morality of homosexuality was up "to others to conclude." She later released a statement saying that she does not believe homosexuality is immoral.


John Edwards: During his 2004 bid for the presidency, Edwards said that he personally opposed gay marriage, but supported civil unions for homosexual couples and said each state should determine its own policy. In 2006, Edwards called gay marriage "the single hardest social issue for me personally," saying that while he supports civil unions and partnership benefits, "it's a jump for me to get to gay marriage."


Rudolph Giuliani: Giuliani opposes gay marriage and has stated that "marriage should be between a man and a woman." He does not, however, support a federal amendment banning gay marriage. As mayor, he signed legislation recognizing domestic partnerships, marched in gay pride parades, actively supported gay rights and temporarily lived with a gay couple during his divorce.


Mike Gravel: Gravel supports gay marriage and opposed the Defense of Marriage Act. He also supports domestic partner benefits for all Americans. In an open letter to the LGBT community, Gravel wrote that "depriving gays and lesbians of equal rights is immoral." He marched in San Francisco's 2007 Gay Pride Parade. In response to a questionnaire from Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights advocacy group, Gravel said he believes U.S. citizens should be able to petition for immigration sponsorship of same-sex partners.


Mike Huckabee: Huckabee opposes gay marriage. When asked if he believes that homosexuality is immoral, he said, "That's their business [but I] don't agree with it." He believes in a traditional definition of marriage where "the rules are one man, one woman for life." While he says that "people have a right to decide how they live their lives," he also believes that "they have to respect not changing the definition of marriage."


Duncan Hunter: (Dropped out) Hunter opposes gay marriage. He co-sponsored a House resolution seeking a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He says that "marriage is one of the most important social institutions we have" and that "children need the unique influence offered by both a father and a mother."


Alan Keyes: Keyes favors a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. At the 2007 Values Voter debate, Keyes said that "if we don't take action at the federal level then our government will have defaulted in its respect for one of our most precious, unalienable rights, which is the right to respect God's God-given institution of the natural family." During his 2004 senatorial campaign, Keyes said that "if we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principle excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism." He also said that he does not believe in a biological basis for homosexuality.


Dennis Kucinich: Kucinich supports "marriage equality for all" and has said that "those who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, these are God's children. They should have the same rights." When he first ran for Congress in 1996, Kucinich said he opposed a law to allow same-sex marriage. In 2003, he said that "there should be a federal law that would allow gay couples to be married."


John McCain: McCain says marriage should be between a man and a woman and that states should regulate marriage law. He opposed a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but endorsed an Arizona ballot initiative to limit marriage to a man and a woman. He also supported the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of gay marriage and domestic partnerships.


Barack Obama: Obama says that he believes "marriage is between a man and a woman" but he wrote in The Audacity of Hope that he remains "open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided ... I may have been infected with society's prejudices and predilections and attributed them to God." He supports granting civil unions for gay couples and opposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. In March 2007, Obama initially dodged questions about the morality of homosexuality. He later went on to say on national television that he did not believe homosexuals are immoral.


Ron Paul: Paul writes that while he opposes states being "forced" to accept same-sex marriage, he also opposes a constitutional amendment that would prohibit gay marriage on the grounds that it would be a "major usurpation of the states' power." Paul described the current military "don't ask don't tell" policy as a "decent" one, saying that disruptive sexual behavior of any kind should be dealt with: "We don't get our rights because we're gays or women or minorities. We get our rights from our creator as individuals. So every individual should be treated the same way."


Bill Richardson: Richardson opposes same-sex marriage, saying in February 2007, "I'm just not there yet. I'm a Catholic. I think marriage is between a man and a woman." Richardson has said that he would support national legislation for civil unions for gay couples, and he is pushing a more limited domestic partnership bill in New Mexico.


W. Mitt Romney: As Massachusetts governor, Romney actively opposed a decision by the state's Supreme Judicial Court to permit same-sex marriages. He is an outspoken advocate of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He says that marriage should be "between a man and a woman" and "all children deserve a mother and a father." Earlier in his political career, Romney supported domestic partner benefits for gays and lesbians and promised to work on behalf of the gay community. He also said states should be allowed to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage.


Fred Thompson: Thompson said he believes Americans should be "a tolerant people" but added that he opposes "special rights" for anyone. He said that "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don't believe judges ought to come along and change that." During the October 2007 Values Voter Summit, Thompson appeared to support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In March 2007, he said that states should have "great leeway" in deciding whether to allow civil unions between gay partners. In 2000 he voted against expanding federal hate crime protections to include gender, sexual orientation and disability.

Confused? LOL. Yeah me too. Seems like they all want it both ways.
I know most people, like me, are not one issue voters.

For more information on each candidate check out their web site. (You can Google search their name and it will bring up each candidates' web page.)

I also recommend going to: Candidate Calculator
This site will show you what candidate is closest to you on the issues.
I know I was shocked when it told me who I matched up with.

Good Luck. Happy Voting. Remember to Vote.
Democracy is not perfect but it works best when you vote!

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