Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty says
constitutional gay marriage bans are needed to limit court
“excesses.”
Pawlenty, the former governor of
Minnesota, talked to the Miami Herald between campaign stops
in Florida.
When asked his position on marriage
rights for gay and lesbian couples, Pawlenty said he supports
constitutional amendments banning such rights.
“When I was in the Minnesota
Legislature, I was a co-author of the Defense of Marriage Act
defining marriage as between a man and a woman,” he said. “I
support a state and federal amendment to the constitutions defining
amendments as such.”
Pawlenty added that such amendments do
not conflict with his support for small government.
“The Constitution and our statutes
and laws more broadly grant or prohibit all kinds of behaviors or
rights. So I don’t think it’s out of bounds in that regard. …
We have courts who have demonstrated they think they know better than
the people on our statutes. And they feel that they should insert
their personal or political views into these matters. And the only
way to limit court excesses in that regard is to put it in our
statutes and our Constitution.” (The video is embedded in the
right panel of this page.)
(Related: Tim
Pawlenty thinks gay marriage “defies common sense.”)