Republican Jon Huntsman is urging the Republican Party to be more supportive of gay marriage, adding that “there is nothing conservative about denying” them the right to wed.
The former Republican presidential candidate, US ambassador to China, and Utah governor wrote the opinion piece, “Marriage Equality is a Conservative Cause” for
The American Conservative, which went online Thursday.
"I've been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life," he wrote. "There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love."
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Huntsman also talked about his push for civil unions while he served as governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009 even though 70 percent of residents were against it, adding that religious institutions should not be forced to recognize the marriages if it is “counter to their conscience.”
In 2011, as a Republican presidential candidate, he talked with Piers Morgan in a CNN interview about his views on gay marriage.
“I believe in civil unions,” he said at the time. “I’m in favor of traditional marriage, I don’t think you can redefine it without getting in trouble . . . I think this country has arrived at a point in time where we can show a little more equality and respect.”
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