Republican presidential candidate
Herman Cain on Friday told CNN anchor Don Lemon that he supports a
constitutional ban on gay marriage, right after saying he doesn't
support a “rewriting” of the document.
During an appearance at the Iowa State
Fair, Cain, a former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a tea party
favorite, spoke at The Des Moines Register's “soapbox”
event.
Cain told a large crowd of more than
150 people that he doesn't pay much attention to his critics.
“I love it when people say that I
don't have a chance of getting the nomination,” he said. “I have
been going against the odds all my life.”
He finished with his now trademark: “My
name is HermanCain.com, and I'm running for president.”
The 65-year-old businessman did not
take questions from the audience.
During a brief interview at the fair
with Lemon, Cain said he did not want the constitution “rewritten,”
and then went on to explain that an amendment that would define
marriage as a heterosexual union is not a change but an “addition.”
“Don't rewrite the Constitution,
enforce the Constitution, that's what that whole movement is about,”
Cain said.
“Don't rewrite the Constitution?
Even when it comes to gay marriage, same-sex marriage?” Lemon
asked.
“Don't rewrite the Constitution,”
Cain insisted. “Now, there is a difference between rewriting the
Constitution and adding something to the Constitution. There is a
difference between that, OK?” (The video is embedded in the right
panel of this page.)