Gingrich: Marriage equality a ‘temporary aberration’

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich called same-sex marriage a “temporary aberration that will dissipate” on Friday at a campaign event he hosted in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register.

“I believe that marriage is between a man and woman,” Gingrich was quoted as saying. “It has been for all of recorded history and I think this is a temporary aberration that will dissipate. I think that it is just fundamentally goes against everything we know.”

Gingrich, a former U.S. House speaker who has been married three times and has previously admitted to committing adultery, reportedly made the statement in response to an audience member question during an event he held at a Best Western hotel. Iowa is among the six states in the country where same-sex marriage is legal.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, chided Gingrich for his comments and said they reflect his failure to understand American values.

“Newt Gingrich is unquestionably expert in ‘temporary aberration,’ but his failure to respect, or even acknowledge, the love and commitment that gay couples, like non-gay couples, seek to express and strengthen through marriage make his prediction as dubious as his grasp of history and American values,” Wolfson said. “You’d think by now Mr. Gingrich would at least have more respect for the freedom to marry.”