Republican House Speaker John Boehner is standing firm on his anti-gay-marriage stance.
“I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” Boehner said Sunday on ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos. “It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. And I can’t imagine that position would ever change.”
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman last week reversed his anti-gay marriage position after revealing he has a gay son. The latest politician to come out in support of gay marriage, Portman spoke out ahead of the Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state.
Last month, more than two dozen Republicans added their names to a brief urging the Supreme Court to declare that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry. The list now includes more than 100 Republicans, including a top adviser to Mitt Romney and an economist who advised Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Boehner, who is also from Ohio, told ABC host Martha Raddatz that he appreciates Portman’s decision to change his views on same-sex marriage.
“I think that Rob can make up his own mind, take his own position,” he said. “But I’ve made clear my position.”
The GOP platform notes that Congressional Republicans led the movement to enact DOMA, “affirming the right of States and the federal government not to recognize same-sex relationships licensed in other jurisdictions.”
Michele Richinick