President George W. Bush appears to
have softened his public opposition to gay marriage.
The former president is in Africa,
where he was asked last week whether marriage equality conflicts with
Christian values.
“I shouldn't be taking a speck out of
someone else's eye when I have a log in my own,” he answered in
Zambia.
In a wide ranging interview in Tanzania
with ABC News, Bush explained his response.
“I meant it's very important for
people not to be overly critical of someone else until you've
examined your own heart,” Bush said.
“Have your views on this evolved at
all?” Jonathan Karl asked.
“I'm not going to weigh back into
those kinds of issues. I'm out of politics,” Bush answered.
During his time at the White House,
Bush opposed gay nuptials and endorsed an effort to ban such unions
with an amendment to the United States Constitution.
In 2004, Republicans used anti-gay
rhetoric to mobilize their base and win large majorities.
In her 2010 memoir Spoken From The
Heart, Laura Bush described how she urged her husband not to make
gay marriage a significant issue in 2004.