Linda McMahon, the former World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO and Senate candidate from
Connecticut, says she opposes the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
which outlaws federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages
of gay and lesbian couples.
McMahon is battling her Democratic
rival, Rep. Chris Murphy, for the seat being vacated by retiring
Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent.
In their first debate held on Sunday,
McMahon was asked which state, North Carolina or Connecticut, got it
right on gay nuptials. North Carolina, McMahon's home state, in May
approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a
heterosexual union, while the Connecticut Supreme Court legalized
such unions in 2008.
McMahon stumbled in her response,
saying that she supports “America's law for same-sex marriage,”
and Murphy quickly pounced.
“America doesn't have a law
protecting same-sex marriage, in fact it has the exact opposite,”
Murphy said. “The fact that Linda McMahon only spent 20 seconds
answering that question tells you that she's not going to stand up to
her party in Washington when it comes to these issues that are right
now being dominated by the social right in Washington.”
In her rebuttal, McMahon expanded on
her answer, saying she would have voted to end “Don't Ask, Don't
Tell.”
She
later added: “I have changed my position on DOMA because with
now gay marriage approved in the the state of Connecticut, I don't
think it's fair.”