At the Fox News GOP presidential debate tonight, correspondent Carl Cameron asked a New Hampshire woman whether she wanted gay marriage banned. Her answer — “Absolutely not” — received cheers from the audience. When Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) then said he believes the nation should have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the audience loudly booed. Watch it:
Transcript:
HUME: Let’s check in once again down at Young’s Restaurant with Carl Cameron. Carl.
CAMERON: Hi, Brit. Well, in this country, any discussion of family values now has sort of gone into what constitutes a marriage — a man and a man, a man and a woman, gay marriage. A lot of conservatives would like to see a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and we have a chance here to talk to Heidi Cherkot (sp?) of Dover, a state employee of Health and Human Services — social worker.
What do you think? Should there be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?
HEIDI: Absolutely not. We’re the state of “live free or die” and people should be able to marry the person they love.
CAMERON: Okay, so let’s take that question from Heidi Cherkot (sp?). And there you hear the reaction from Granite staters — the “live free or die” state — and pose this to Sam Brownback. Sen. Brownback, should there be a constitutional amendment banning marriage, and if so, why?
BROWNBACK: Answer to that is yes. And the reason is, this is a foundational institution. It is a foundational institution. I understand this is a divided audience on this.