Arnold Schwarzenegger was ushered in as the 38th governor of California in 2003. As a member of the Republican party in a primarily Democratic state, as well as a former Mr. Universe and Hollywood action hero, he did not fit the typical mold. In a recent interview, Schwarzenegger reveals how he married two gay couples during his time in offices and championed gay marriage rights.
Schwarzenegger revealed that he performed two same-sex marriage ceremonies while governor in an upcoming interview on "60 Minutes," CBS News reported.
The conversation began when Lesley Stahl noted that Schwarzenegger called Susan Kennedy, his chief of staff, “a cigar-smoking lesbian," according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“She got married. Did you go to the wedding?” Stahl asks.
“I performed the wedding in the office,” the former governor reveals. “I married her in the office — in the governor’s office.”
Adding, “I’m for that she gets the kind of wedding and the kind of ceremony that I had when I got married with Maria [Shriver].That she happens to love a woman, and I am — a guy that loves a woman, that is two different things. It doesn't make any difference. She should still have her ceremony.”
Schwarzenegger also reveals in the married a gay assistant in the governor’s office.
“I didn’t know that,” Stahl says.
“That’s why I give you the scoop,” he replies.
Schwarzenegger's position on gay marriage has vacillated in the past. He vetoed two same-sex marriage bills, once in 2005 and once in 2007, reported the San Francisco Gate.
"This will be part of his legacy," Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, which sponsored AB43, told the San Francisco Gate. "He single-handedly is standing in the way of lifting the cloud of discrimination for millions of Californians."
However, in 2008 Schwarzenegger changed his tune and supported the overturn of Proposition 8, the legislation that outlaws gay marriage, the Los Angeles Times previously reported.
Schwarzenegger has been making the media rounds to promote his new memoir, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story." His press tour has served up many sound bites, including disclosures about his betrayal of Maria Shriver and admittance to an affair with Brigitte Nielsen.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's "60 Minutes" interview can be seen on the 45th season premiere of the show, Sunday at 7:00 p.m. EST.
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