This morning, during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, former Utah Governor and likely 2012 presidential contender Jon Huntsman reiterated his support for civil unions, saying that the Republican party has not done enough “in the name of equality”:
HUNTSMAN: Do I favor civil unions? Yeah, I favor civil unions. I don’t think we have done enough in the name of equality in the area of — or at reciprocal beneficiary rights. Will some people –
CROWLEY: Hospital visitation, and –
HUNTSMAN: Sure. Sure, it’s — whatnot. Will some people hold that against me? It’s OK. You got to be who you are and march forward. Some people will like it.
And I believe that in the end people will look at the totality of what it is you stand for, the totality of what you’ve done, and then make an informed decision.
Watch it:
Huntsman is alone among the candidates for the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nomination to endorse civil union, which he first embraced in February 2009. As governor, he supported “legislation intended to give same-sex and other non-traditional couples some of the rights available through marriage.” “I’m a firm believer in the traditional construct of marriage, a man and a woman,” he said. “But I also think that we can go a greater distance in enhancing equal rights for others in nontraditional relationships.”
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