Tim Kaine Avoids Gay Marriage Questions

Tim Kaine, a former Virginia governor who is running for U.S. Senate, was pressured on Tuesday to reveal his stance on gay marriage.

This pressure has been directed at numerous Democratic candidates following Vice President Joe Biden’s comment over the weekend that he is “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage. Kaine told reporters on Tuesday that:

“The underlying issue is, should committed couples have the same legal rights and responsibilities, and the answer to that is an unequivocal yes.”

Kaine refused to say outright what his stance is on the controversial issue, but he commented that he completely backed “relationship equality.”

The U.S. Senate hopeful noted that he campaigned against an amendment in Virginia in 2006 that would ban gay marriage, because he believed that the law would have left “committed couples” (those who are together, but choose not to get married) without the same legal protections as married couples.

Tim Kaine went on to say that:

“I believe in the legal equality of relationships. The debate about, is it marriage? Is it civil union? Is it domestic partnership? I kind of let that one go and just say the legal issue is: Should committed couples be treated the same by law? And I think the answer is yes.”

The Harvard law school graduate, who spent the early part of his career as a civil rights attorney, takes a similar stance on gay marriage. He believes, as a devout Catholic, that abortion is wrong, however he also believes that it is not the government’s right to decide what is best for everyone regarding the issue.

Kaine’s campaign states that, because of his background, the former governor is able to look at the issues from more of a legal standpoint. When asked if gay marriage is a civil right, he stated:

“Yeah, but what I would say is: Relationship equality is a civil right. I believe that. But should gay couples be allowed to apply for a marriage license? There should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to have the same rights as a married couple. I think the labels actually get in the way of the issue.”