into motion, and you wrote about it at the time rather pointedly where you said after that decision by the court, the definition of marriage is not a matter of semantics. it will have lasting impact on society. ten years later as you ve seen same-sex marriage now in 17 states and the district of columbia, has it had a negative impact on society in it your judgment? well, i think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. and i think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there s a father and a mother. now, there are many other different settings that children are raised in and people have the right to live their life as they want to, but i think marriage should be defined in the way it has been defined for several thousand years, and if gay couples want to live together, that s fine, as well. that s their right. do you think it s had a negative impact on society that you have so many states now recognizing it? oh, i think it s going to take a long,
set a same-sex marriage rights into motion, and you wrote about it at the time rather pointedly where you said after that decision by the court, the definition of marriage is not a matter of semantics. it will have lasting impact on society. ten years later as you ve seen same-sex marriage now in 17 states and the district of columbia, has it had a negative impact on society in it your judgment? well, i think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. and i think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there s a father and a mother. now, there are many other different settings that children are raised in and people have the right to live their life as they want to, but i think marriage should be defined in the way it has been defined for several thousand years, and if gay couples want to live together, that s fine, as well. that s their right. do you think it s had a negative impact on society that you have so many states now recognizing it? oh, i t
settings where there s a mom and a dad. that s not going to happen overnight. it s something which happens over generations in fact, and again, i think the ideal setting is where there s a mom and dad that can invest their time and resources in supporting the development of a child. as you look at the progression of this issue as a republican, do you think republicans have lost the fight politically over this? you know, i don t know that you have to worry about who wins and loses a particular fight. i think you stand for various principles. you communicate those to the american people, and they either support those or not. sometimes if something is lost, you move on to the next issue. you wish you d have won that one but you move on. i think in this case, it continues to be an issue that people find important and something which is being considered in various states across the country. i do believe, by the way, that it s best decided by the people rather than by the courts. i think
determine whether having gay marriage will make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there s a mom and a dad. that s not going to happen overnight. it s something which happens over generations in fact, and again, i think the ideal setting is where there s a mom and dad that can invest their time and resources in supporting the development of a child. as you look at the progression of this issue as a republican, do you think republicans have lost the fight politically over this? you know, i don t know that you have to worry about who wins and loses a particular fight. i think you stand for various principles. you communicate those to the american people, and they either support those or not. sometimes if something is lost, you move on to the next issue. you wish you d have won that one but you move on. i think in this case, it continues to be an issue that people find important and something which is being considered in various states across the country. i do beli
service they were able to give to others. it s a great unifying thing. boston would love it if the games came home. let me talk to you about politics and, of course, the issue of gay rights around the world, particularly in russia has been part of the backdrop of these games. you think about the issue of same-sex marriage in america. ten years ago, almost to the month, it was massachusetts when you were governor that really set a same-sex marriage rights into motion, and you wrote about it at the time rather pointedly where you said after that decision by the court, the definition of marriage is not a matter of semantics. it will have lasting impact on society. ten years later as you ve seen same-sex marriage now in 17 states and the district of columbia, has it is had a negative impact on society in it your judgment? well, i think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. and i think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there s a father and a mot