MILWAUKEE, August 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The state of Wisconsin will not change its definition of marriage “anytime soon,” according to Republican Governor Scott Walker.
Although state voters enacted a constitutional marriage protection amendment in 2006 with 59 percent of the vote, and polls show a majority of state residents do not support redefining marriage, the media asked the governor to address the issue this weekend at the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee.
Changing the state constitution “requires two consecutive sessions of the legislature, and ultimately, a vote of the people. I just don't see that being an issue that's going to be addressed anytime soon,” he said.
During a break at the meeting, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat and a Catholic, called on the Republican Walker to support gay “marriage” in order to fit in with surrounding states.
But the states bordering Wisconsin largely do not same-sex “marriage.” Minnesota changed the definition of marriage to include homosexuals on August 1.
However, Quinn came up short when the African-American Caucus killed the marriage redefinition bill in the Illinois state House in May after hearing the concerns of black pastors. Quinn considered its passage inevitable after the state Senate ratified the bill, and President Barack Obama said at the time that the state's drive to redefine marriage is “something that I deeply support.”
President Obama has not specifically spoken about the Wisconsin amendment.
Michigan, which borders Wisconsin, also does not allow same-sex “marriages.”
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The diversity fits with Walker's federalist views. “In general, my preference is that things are left to the states and not dictated by the federal government. And that's across the board,” Walker told media in March.
After surviving a recall election, taking on public sector unions, and signing abortion restrictions, Walker is considered a likely 2016 presidential hopeful.