Illinois Senator Mark Kirk is fine with
states deciding gay marriage.
The 52-year-old Kirk was among the
eight Republicans who voted in favor of a bill that began the process
of repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” on September 20. For 18
years the policy banned gay and bisexual troops from serving openly.
Gay rights activists spurned Kirk
during his 2010 campaign in favor of Democrat Alexi Gianoulias, who
favors giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
In addressing a group of students at
Southeast High School in Springfield last week, Kirk was asked if he
supports gay marriage.
“The question I asked about gay
marriage, I kind of wish he would have answered it more,”
17-year-old Katelynn Parish told The
State Journal-Register. “I thought maybe he was pro-gay
marriage, but I wanted him to give me a straight answer. He still
did really good explaining it, though.”
Kirk told the students that he believes
individual states should decide marriage issues, which could be
interpreted to mean that he favors repeal of the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA). DOMA defines marriage as a heterosexual union for
federal agencies, restricting state's rights to decide on marriage.
(Related: Gay
marriage foes attack GOPer Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for supporting DOMA
repeal.)