Former Massachusetts Governor and
failed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday was
asked whether his opposition to gay marriage has softened.
During an appearance on NBC's Meet
the Press, Romney told host David Gregory that he had not changed
his mind on the issue of marriage equality.
“Well, I think marriage is a
relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney said. “And I
think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where
there's a father and a mother. Now there are many other different
settings that children are raised in and people have the right to
live their life as they want to. … And if gay couples want to live
together, why that's fine as well. That's their right.”
“Do you think it has actually had a
negative impact on society? That you have so many states now
recognizing it,” Gregory asked.
“I think it's going to take a long,
long time to determine whether having gay marriage will make it less
likely for kids to be raised in settings where there's a mom and a
dad,” Romney responded. “That's not going to happen overnight.
It's something which happens over generations.”
Romney added that believes the issue
should be decided by the people, not courts.
(Watch
the entire segment at NBC News.)