The Supreme Court is expected by the end of June to make a
landmark ruling that could make gay marriage the law of the land
or return the decision to individual states.
"It's at the core of the Catholic faith and to imagine how we
are going to succeed in our country unless we have committed
family life, (a) committed child-centered family system, is hard
to imagine," Bush told the Christian Broadcasting Network show,
"The Brody File, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
"So, irrespective of the Supreme Court ruling because they are
going to decide whatever they decide - I don’t know what they
are going to do - we need to be stalwart supporters of
traditional marriage," said Bush, who converted to Catholicism
20 years ago.
The former Florida governor has not formally declared that he is
running for the Republican 2016 presidential nomination,
although he said in December he would explore a run for the
White House.
Bush issued a statement in January in which he said: "I hope
that we can 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.”
Bush also said in the radio interview that Christian business
owners should be able to refuse, "if it's based on a religious
belief," to provide services to same-sex couples.
“A big country, a tolerant country, ought to be able to figure
out the difference between discriminating against someone
because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to
participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral
beliefs,” Bush said.
(Reporting by Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Dan Grebler and Peter
Cooney)
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