Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) defines marriage as between a man and a woman but said if the United States were to legalize gay marriage that ruling should be respected.
Kasich, who had previously said he’d go to a same-sex wedding, made the comment at a Christian Science Monitor event on Friday. The Ohio governor was asked about going to a same-sex wedding in his home state.
“They’ll only get married if the court changes [that]. Ohio passed a constitutional amendment saying it is between a man and a woman,” Kasich said. “If it’s changed and my friend invites me to a wedding my big question is ‘well, what time is it?’ I mean it’s a time to celebrate with people.”
A number of potential or declared Republican 2016 candidates have recently been pressed on going to a same-sex wedding in spite of defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Most of them have shown a willingness to go to a same-sex wedding of a loved one.
The question is particularly timely given that on Tuesday the Supreme Court began proceedings on a case that could trump state same-sex marriage bans. If the high court ruled on behalf of the plaintiffs in that case, Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage bans across the country would quickly be wiped out. Kasich said such a ruling would have to be respected.
“I’m for marriage being defined as between a man and a woman, if the Supreme Court changes that, those changes have to be respected,” Kasich said. “And I have a number of friends who are gay. I like them. They know I feel about this. I’m fine. They want me to go, I’ll care about them, I’ll go.”
