Colin Powell Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

The former secretary of state says gay unions and families can be as strong as any other.
By Joyce Jones
Posted: 05/24/2012 12:30 PM EDT
Filed Under Colin Powell, Barack Obama, President Barack Obama, President Obama, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, same-sex marriage, Politics News

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell isn’t yet ready to endorse a presidential candidate, but on Wednesday evening, he endorsed same-sex marriage. Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993 when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was implemented, said in an interview on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer that he has “no problem” with marriage equality and speculated that most Americans are prepared to adapt to changing times.

“As I've thought about gay marriage, I know a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones. And they are stable a family as my family is,” Powell said. “And they raise children. And so I don't see any reason not to say that they should be able to get married under the laws of their state or the laws of the country, however that turns out. Its seems to be the laws of the state."

The retired four-star general also said that while religious institutions are entitled to not embrace what for them remains a highly controversial issue, state and federal governments are not and should treat heterosexual and gay unions equally.

"I hope everybody will just carefully look at this, and I understand the religious objections to it. But at the same time, we are a country that is open to diversity and change. And my experience with many of my gay and lesbian friends is that they form unions as strong as any other unions I've seen and raise children that are good, strong children," he said.


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