Monday, August 15, 2011

Michele Bachmann: Gay Families Are Not ‘Families’

By Zack Ford/Think Progress

On yesterday’s Meet The Press, host David Gregory challenged Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann on some of her anti-gay views. After grilling her about whether sexual orientation would be a factor she’d consider in making presidential appointments, he asked whether a same-sex couple raising children constitutes a “family.” She doesn’t:
GREGORY: Can a gay couple who adopt children, in your mind, be considered a “family”?
BACHMANN: When it comes to marriage, and family, my opinion is that marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think that’s been my view —
GREGORY: So a gay couple with kids would not be considered a “family” to you?
BACHMANN: You know, all of these kind of questions really aren’t about what people are concerned about right now.
Bachmann then tried to downplay the importance of the question, even though, as Gregory pointed out, Bachmann has said that same-sex marriage is a “defining political issue of our time.” Bachmann simply responded, “I think my views are clear.”
Watch it (starting at 2:45):
The 2010 Census shows that there are at least 13,718 same-sex couples living in Bachmann’s home state of Minnesota, and 2,372 of those couples report raising children. If those are not “families,” it’s unclear what Bachmann thinks they might be.

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