RNC Chair Reince Priebus told David Gregory on Meet the Press yesterday how he felt Obama's gay marriage endorsement would affect the election:
I’m not sure if it’s going to be a defining issue, but clearly for people in America – where gay marriage is their number one issue, we clearly have two candidates with two different views. On one hand, you’ve got Barack Obama who is now, I guess, going to promote and perhaps crusade for this issue. And you have Mitt Romney who’s been consistent and I think in line with most Americans – which is that marriage ought to be defined between one man and one woman. So, for those people that this is their issue, they have a clear choice.
Asked if he believes it's a civil rights issue:
“I don’t think it’s a matter of civil rights. I think it’s just a matter of whether or not we’re going to adhere to something that’s been historical and religious and legal in this country for many, many years. I mean, marriage has to have a definition. And we just happen to believe it’s between a man and a woman,” Priebus said NBC’s "Meet The Press."
“I think there’s a big difference between people that have been murdered and everything that has come with Jim Crow than marriage between a man and a man and a woman and a woman,” he said.
Priebus also said he'd like to see a federal marriage amendment:
“People in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect. However, that doesn’t mean it carries on to marriage."
Watch the interview, AFTER THE JUMP…
