Newt Gingrich has conceded that
momentum is on the side of supporters of gay marriage.
While not endorsing gay nuptials,
Gingrich, the former House Speaker and a leading candidate for the
2012 GOP presidential nomination, told The
Huffington Post that he was prepared to accept “a legal
document issued by the state” for gay and lesbian couples.
“I think that this will be much more
difficult than immigration for conservatism to come to grips with,”
he said after referencing the results of the November 6 election.
“It is in every family. It is in every community. The momentum is
clearly now in the direction in finding some way to … accommodate
and deal with reality. And the reality is going to be that in a
number of American states – and it will be more after 2014 – gay
relationships will be legal, period.”
Gingrich, who has a gay half sister,
said he has married gay friends. He added that he fears that the
issue could hurt the Republican Party, whose official platform
opposes the legalization of marriage equality.
“I didn't think that was inevitable
10 or 15 years ago, when we passed the Defense of Marriage Act,” he
said. “It didn't seem at the time to be anything like as big a
wave of change as we are now seeing.”
During the campaign, Gingrich
reiterated his support
for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as a
heterosexual union and described
gay nuptials as pagan behavior.