Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh
Mandel opposes gay marriage and the successful repeal of 'Don't Ask,
Don't Tell.'
During a televised debate against his
Democratic rival, Senator Sherrod Brown, held on Thursday in
Columbus, Mandel was asked whether he thought repeal of the policy
which banned gay and bisexual troops from serving openly was a “good
idea” and whether he would support repeal of Ohio's 2004
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a heterosexual union.
“Well, on the military side, I
disagree with [the repeal],” he answered. “As far as the
decision here in the state of Ohio, I'm a supporter of marriage
between one man and one woman. I believe in traditional marriage.”
“At the same time, I want you to know
I will do everything I can to represent every single person in the
state of Ohio – all eleven point five million people. Regardless
of their background, regardless of their socioeconomic background,
regardless of their race, their religion or any other characteristic.
… I'm going to be blind to race, religion, any other type of
orientation here in the state of Ohio and when I go to Washington.”
Brown, a strong supporter of gay
rights, responded by asking, “Why should we believe he supports
equal rights for everybody?”
“Josh Mandel's voting record in the
state legislature doesn't speak to that,” he said.