Former President George H.W. Bush has moderated his views on same-sex marriage since seeking the White House, according to a new biography.
Bush said in his audio diary before his 1988 presidential campaign that Americans "didn't want same-sex marriage codified," according to The New York Times. But after he served as an official witness at a 2013 same-sex wedding, he sent his biographer, Jon Meacham, a note to clarify that his views had changed.
“Personally, I still believe in traditional marriage,” Bush wrote, according to a copy of the book obtained by the Times, titled “Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush." “But people should be able to do what they want to do, without discrimination. People have a right to be happy. I guess you could say I have mellowed.”
The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June. After that decision, Jeb Bush, the 41st president's son who is seeking the White House himself, said he believes in marriage between a man and a woman, but that states should have been able to decide whether same-sex marriage was legal. In 2004, then-President George W. Bush pushed for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Read more about George H.W.'s comments on his son's administration here.
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