Rick Snyder Says He Won't Come Out For Or Against Gay Marriage

Rick Snyder Says He Won't Take Gay Marriage Position

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said Monday that he won't contest a court ruling on the legality of same-sex marriages in his state, and insisted he has never taken a public position on the issue.

Snyder made the comments at a Bloomberg View forum in New York.

Roughly 300 couples married in Michigan Saturday, before an appeals court placed a temporary hold on a federal judge's Friday ruling overturning the state's constitutional ban on same sex marriage.

“If a federal judge changes the law … then I’m going to follow what’s been redefined as the law,” Snyder said, according to Politico. “So I am not spending time [on] the issue itself. … Hopefully the Court of Appeals and their stay or something can clarify the status [of weddings] that took place in the interim. Those couples are in a tough spot. So I want to get some clarity.”

Snyder said he doesn't inject his opinion about issues such as same-sex marriage into state policy debates, saying he "didn't get hired" to deal with them.

“Social issues, generally, I don’t take a position,” Snyder said. “I stay focused on jobs and kids.”

Snyder's comments appear to contradict some of his actions while in office. He signed a bill imposing restrictions on abortion clinics and providers in 2012.

The Democratic Governors Association sent a video from a 2010 gubernatorial debate in which Snyder said he believes marriage is defined as “between a man and a woman."

"Rick Snyder is a weak leader who is so terrified of sharing his out-of-touch views that he is willing to contradict what he said loud and clear on video tape," DGA spokeswoman Sabrina Singh wrote HuffPost in an email.

Former Rep. Mark Schauer (D) is running to unseat Snyder in what is shaping up to be one of this year's most competitive gubernatorial races.

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