Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Monday said that while he will abide by federal rulings on the state’s same-sex marriage ban, he has no personal position on the issue.
“If a federal judge changes the law…then I’m going to follow what’s been redefined as the law,” he said at a Bloomberg View forum in New York, as recorded by Politico. “So I am not spending time [on] the issue itself.”
On Friday, a federal judge struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage. The state appealed the decision, and an appeals court issued a temporary stay on the ruling on Saturday, halting same-sex marriages in the state through Wednesday.
Counties issued marriage licenses to gay couples on Saturday before the stay was issued, leaving hundreds of couples in legal limbo.
“Hopefully the Court of Appeals and their stay or something can clarify the status [of weddings] that took place in the interim. Those couples are in a tough spot. So I want to get some clarity,” Snyder said Monday.
The governor said that his role was separate from that of his attorney general, who has been defending the state’s ban in court.
“Social issues, generally, I don’t take a position,” Snyder said. “I stay focused on jobs and kids.”
The Democratic Governor’s Association quickly attacked Snyder’s Monday statement on gay marriage. The group highlighted a debate in the 2010 gubernatorial race, during which Snyder said he felt marriage was defined as between a man and a woman.
“Rick Snyder is a weak leader who is so terrified of sharing his out-of-touch views that he is willing to contradict what he said loud and clear on video tape,” Sabrina Singh, a DGA spokesperson, wrote in an email to the Huffington Post.
Former Rep. Mark Schauer (D) is running against Snyder for governor in 2014.
