Branstad on gay marriage
November 19, 2009 by O.Kay Henderson · 1 Comment
Last night I put up phase one of my Wednesday afternoon interview with former Governor Terry Branstad. Now, here’s phase two, a focus on what Branstad had to say on the subject of same-sex marriage.
On November 7, Branstad said in a speech at a GOP fundraiser that the legislature should let the people of Iowa vote on an amendment to the state constitution which would ban gay marrriage here. Branstad, as you may know, also issued a written statement through his campaign spokesman this week, saying he favors “traditional” marriage. Branstad will be asked about this issue on the campaign trail, as rival Bob Vander Plaats has said the 2010 election should be a referendum on gay marriage and Vander Plaats has promised that, if elected, he would issue an executive order to try to override the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage. So I asked Branstad, specifically: what are your views on gay marriage and what does he think is the appropriate response to the court decision?
“Well, first of all, I signed the law which established marriage as a contract between one man and one woman,” Branstad said. “That’s what I think it should be. I think the court’s decision was wrong. I think the people should have an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment to override that court decision and 31 states have had that opportunity and every one of them — from Maine to California — has passed it…The legislature needs to authorize it and the citizens should have an opportunity to vote on it. I feel very strongly that the people should have a chance to vote on it.”
Next, we had a discussion about former Lieutenant Governor Joy Corning (Branstad’s running mate in 1990 and 1994) and her “robocall” in support of same-sex marriage as well as a general discussion about the Republican Party and its view on gay marriage.
