Tim Kaine on Tuesday refused to say
whether he supports legalizing gay marriage.
Kaine, a former governor of Virginia
who is running for the U.S. Senate, skirted around the issue when
asked by reporters during a breakfast sponsored by the moderate group
Third Way, The Washington Post reported.
“The underlying issue, should
committed couples have the same legal rights and responsibilities,
and the answer to that is an unequivocal yes,” the Democrat said,
then added that he also opposed in 2006 passage of Virginia's
constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
“I believe in the legal equality of
relationships,” Kaine said. “The debate about, you know, is it
marriage? Is it civil union? Is it domestic partnership? I just
kind of let that one go and say should committed couples be treated
the same by law, and I think the answer is yes.”
“Relationship equality is a civil
right,” he answered when asked whether marriage is a civil right.
Kaine also dodged a question on whether
his position on gay marriage differed from that of president Obama's
stated “evolution” on the issue.
“People like to ding the president on
that word but the answer is, it's exactly what's happening in
society,” he said.