The Associated Press reported that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin “opposes gay marriage — constitutionally banned in Alaska before her time — but exercised a veto that essentially granted benefits to gay state employees and their partners.” However, the AP did not note that Palin stated that she vetoed the bill because the Alaska attorney general had advised her that it was unconstitutional, not because she believed same-sex partners of public employees should receive benefits….
As a candidate for governor, Palin reportedly supported efforts to prohibit state benefits for same-sex couples. Noting that “the Alaska Supreme Court ruled the state couldn’t deny spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees,” the Anchorage Daily News reported on August 6, 2006, that Palin believes
“[e]lected officials can’t defy the court when it comes to how rights are applied, she said, but she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to homosexual couples. ‘I believe that honoring the family structure is that important,’ Palin said. She said she doesn’t know if people choose to be gay.”
The Daily News further reported on October 31, 2006, that
“Palin said that when voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman eight years ago, many believed they were also implying that a gay partner shouldn’t get state benefits. ‘I wouldn’t oppose at all the voters going back to the ballot box to clarify that,’ she said during a KTUU Channel 2 debate Sunday.”
Read the full story at Media Matters for America.