Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson is
reconsidering his position on gay marriage.
The 58-year-old former governor of New
Mexico has previously said he opposes gay marriage, yet he remains
one of the GOP field's most gay-friendly candidates.
According to Johnson's campaign
website, the Republican candidate supports civil unions for gay and
lesbian couples. However, he's refused to sign anti-gay marriage
pledges from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the
Iowa-based The Family Leader.
“This 'pledge' is nothing short of a
promise to discriminate against everyone who makes a personal choice
that doesn't fit into a particular definition of 'virtue,'” Johnson
wrote of the The Family Leader's document.
“In one concise
document, they manage to condemn gays, single parents, single
individuals, divorcees, Muslims, gays in the military, unmarried
couples, women who choose to have abortions, and everyone else who
doesn't fit in a Norman Rockwell painting,” he added.
In an email to On
Top Magazine, Josiah Schmidt, social media coordinator for the
Johnson campaign, said Johnson is rethinking his position.
“Gov. Johnson
personally prefers that government get out of the marriage business
entirely, and that all the legalities and privileges currently
handled by the institution of marriage be transferred to civil
unions, and that unions be offered equally to heterosexual and
homosexual couples alike, while marriage is defined and handled by
private citizens,” Schmidt said.
“Gov. Johnson has
said on many occasions, however, that if the institution of marriage
cannot be stripped from government control, then perhaps gay marriage
should be an issue on par with civil rights, and maybe gay marriage
should be legalized on the federal level, but that's currently a
'maybe' for Gov. Johnson.”
Johnson's new
position is reflected in an updated Marriage
Equality USA chart on the presidential candidates' positions.