Republican presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich stated that he’s “a traditional marriage guy” but that “We had a Supreme Court ruling, and you know what, let’s move on” and “What are we going to do, write a law? I read about this thing they did in Mississippi where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay. What the hell are we doing in this country?” During a Town Hall on CNN on Monday.
Kasich said, “I’m a traditional marriage guy, okay? I believe a man and a woman, but, I went home one day, I said, ‘Sweetie, we’ve been invited to a gay wedding.’ This was after the court. I said, ‘What do you think?” she said, ‘Well, I’m going, I don’t know if you are or not.’ And we went, and look, here’s the thing, we may disagree with something about people’s lifestyles and all those kinds of things, we may disagree, but you know what, let’s try to understand each other a little bit. What are we going to do, write a law? I read about this thing they did in Mississippi where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay. What the hell are we doing in this country? I mean, look, I may not appreciate a certain lifestyle, or even approve of it, but I can — that doesn’t mean I’ve got to go write a law and try to figure out how to have another wedge issue, because one of the things that’s happening, on this issue itself, is that there are politicians that are using it to get publicity, which ultimately divides us. We had a Supreme Court ruling, and you know what, let’s move on. Let’s move on from where we are.”
He was then asked, “So the argument that’s made in Mississippi, North Carolina, that this is about religious freedom, you don’t necessarily buy that?”
Kasich responded, “I think if you’re a photographer, okay, and you are deep Christian and you object to going to a gay wedding, okay. So somebody comes in, and they say, ‘Okay, we want you to be our photographer,’ photographer says, you know, ‘I’d really not be comfortable doing that.’ If I were trying to arrange a gay wedding, I might go down the street to another photographer. Why do I need to raise all this cane about this? and frankly, if I’m selling cupcakes, why don’t I just sell a cupcake? That’s what I do in commerce. It gets to be a tricky thing about how much you involve somebody against some deeply held belief. But most of the time, I think we can accommodate one another, don’t you?”
Kasich said, “I’m a traditional marriage guy, okay? I believe a man and a woman, but, I went home one day, I said, ‘Sweetie, we’ve been invited to a gay wedding.’ This was after the court. I said, ‘What do you think?” she said, ‘Well, I’m going, I don’t know if you are or not.’ And we went, and look, here’s the thing, we may disagree with something about people’s lifestyles and all those kinds of things, we may disagree, but you know what, let’s try to understand each other a little bit. What are we going to do, write a law? I read about this thing they did in Mississippi where apparently you can deny somebody service because they’re gay. What the hell are we doing in this country? I mean, look, I may not appreciate a certain lifestyle, or even approve of it, but I can — that doesn’t mean I’ve got to go write a law and try to figure out how to have another wedge issue, because one of the things that’s happening, on this issue itself, is that there are politicians that are using it to get publicity, which ultimately divides us. We had a Supreme Court ruling, and you know what, let’s move on. Let’s move on from where we are.”
He was then asked, “So the argument that’s made in Mississippi, North Carolina, that this is about religious freedom, you don’t necessarily buy that?”
Kasich responded, “I think if you’re a photographer, okay, and you are deep Christian and you object to going to a gay wedding, okay. So somebody comes in, and they say, ‘Okay, we want you to be our photographer,’ photographer says, you know, ‘I’d really not be comfortable doing that.’ If I were trying to arrange a gay wedding, I might go down the street to another photographer. Why do I need to raise all this cane about this? and frankly, if I’m selling cupcakes, why don’t I just sell a cupcake? That’s what I do in commerce. It gets to be a tricky thing about how much you involve somebody against some deeply held belief. But most of the time, I think we can accommodate one another, don’t you?”
