Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker over the weekend said the Republican Party is not fighting gay marriage.

Walker, a Republican, made his comments just days after he appealed a federal judge's ruling striking down Wisconsin's 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb's ruling opened the door for nearly 600 gay couples to marry.

“I don't think the Republican Party is fighting it,” Walker told the AP at a gathering of the National Governors Association in Nashville.

“I'm not saying it's not important,” said Walker, a possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate. “But Republicans haven't been talking about this. We've been talking about economic and fiscal issues. It's those on the left that are pushing it.”

He chalked up his defense of the state's ban as an obligation to Wisconsin's constitution.

(Related: Chris Christie: Gay marriage debate not resolved.)