In fielding questions about gay
marriage, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele
called repeal of the military's ban on open gay service, known as
“Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” “dangerous.”
RNC voting members will gather later
this month to decide whether Steele keeps his job or is replaced by
another candidate.
The National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), an opponent of gay marriage, has interviewed leading
candidates via Skype and posted their responses on its website. All
of the candidates interviewed agree with the group on the issue.
In his interview, Steele, who's
previously made headlines by calling civil unions “crazy” and
arguing
that gay marriage would be bad for small business, said that he
respects former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman but disagrees with his position
on gay marriage. (Mehlman
came out gay in 2010 to fundraise for the group supporting repeal of
California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.)
“Ken, as you know, is a dear friend
and I respect him and thank him for his leadership of the party, but
this is one where we disagree,” Steele said. “I believe very
firmly that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
And Steele insisted that opposition to
gay marriage is not anti-gay.
“You can support the institution of
marriage between a man and a woman as has been divined if you will
over time, but doesn't mean that you are somehow anti anyone or
anything. You just feel very strongly about this issue.”
Steele went on to say he believes the
battle ahead lies in the states, but added that he supports a federal
ban on gay marriage. In closing, he said that repeal of “Don't
Ask, Don't Tell” had put America on a “dangerous course.”
“We have a lot of work ahead of us
and we're going to need to stand united and stronger than ever
before,” Steele added. “This administration, I believe, has put
this country on a very dangerous course. From 'Don't Ask, Don't
Tell' to what we see in health care, I think now we're going to have
to come together in a way that we never realized before and I think
it's going to be an important time for us.” (The video is embedded
in the right panel of this page.)