Texas Governor Rick Perry on Friday
reiterated his opposition to gay marriage.
Speaking to a group of conservatives in
Denver, the potential Republican presidential candidate revised and
expanded on earlier remarks.
While attending an event last week
associated with the Republican Governors Association's annual
convention in Aspen, Colorado, Perry said passage of a gay marriage
law in New York was the state's business: “That's New York, and
that's their business, and that's fine by me.”
Perry spoke on Friday after
presidential candidate Rick Santorum took a swipe at the governor's
position.
“There are some in our party who say,
'Well, if someone in New York wants to have gay marriage, that's fine
with me,'” Santorum said, referring to Perry. “It is not fine
with me that New York has destroyed marriage. It is not fine with me
that New York is setting a template that will cause great division in
this country.”
“I said the other day that the 10th
Amendment frees New York to define marriage as they please, but the
traditional definition suits Texas and this governor just fine,”
Perry told the roughly 1,000 conservatives gathered at the Western
Conservative Summit.
“Washington needs a refresher course
on the 10th Amendment,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Perry told Tony
Perkins, the president of the Christian conservative group Family
Research Council (FRC), that he supports a federal constitutional
amendment that would ban gay marriage.
“To not pass the federal marriage
amendment would impinge on Texas', and other states', right not to
have marriage forced upon us by these activist judges and special
interest groups,” Perry added.
Perry, however, has yet to reconcile
the fact that a federal amendment would impinge on New York's right
to decide the issue.