What Jeb Bush Says—or Doesn’t Say—About Same-Sex Marriage

Jeb Bush is already making waves in the GOP with his stances on Common Core and immigration, but will same-sex marriage be added to that list? “Jeb is going to get to deal with top-tier issues we already knew about: Immigration and Common Core—and now we can add marriage to the list,” a key conservative leader told The Examiner. “He’ll have to answer some new, probing questions about his position—and what policies he would pursue if he was our nominee—and if he was elected,” he said. The comments come after Bush called for respect on all sides of the gay-marriage debate. “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law,” Bush said, according to CNN. “I hope that we can also show respect for the good people on all sides of the gay and lesbian marriage issue—including couples making lifetime commitments to each other who are seeking greater legal protections and those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.” Some news sources are reporting that Bush’s comments hurt his chance as a Republican hopeful. Chairman for the National Organization for Marriage John Eastman told the Washington Post as much. “It seems to me that what the base of the Republican Party is looking for is someone who’s going to stand up for that, and Jeb Bush’s comments demonstrate he doesn’t want to be that guy,” Eastman tells the Post. “He wants to punt the ball to somebody else.” Democratic National Convention spokesperson Mo Elleithee says Bush hasn’t introduced a radical new idea, and his position on gay marriage remains more against it than for it. “It took Jeb Bush 69 words to say absolutely nothing—69 words not to say, ‘I support marriage equality,'” Elleithee says, Time reports. “Nothing’s changed. At the end of Bush’s statement, he still had the same position: he opposes the right of gay and lesbian Floridians—and all LGBT Americans—to get married and adopt children.” What do you think about Bush’s statements regarding gay marriage? Sound off!