Asked by a reporter whether he supports same-sex marriage, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, offered a cringy non-answer that has attracted heavy criticism online.
The reporter's question came after McCarthy's colleague in the House, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, announced that she now supports same-sex marriage.
You can hear McCarthy's response in the video below.
McCarthy responded:
"Look, same-sex marriage is the law of the land and it's what America holds and that's the law of the land."
"It's the law of the land. I support the law of the land. I don't see how that's different."
"I don't see how that's news."
McCarthy's response has been widely crticized as both non-commital and hypocritical.
Quite a few pointed out that McCarthy would be unlikely to issue the same defense of abortion rights, which the Republican Party has made clear it wants to restrict.
Same-sex marriage is indeed "the law of the land," per Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
However, McCarthy has a long record of opposition toward same-sex marriage.
As a member of the House, McCarthy supported the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage and prohibited same-sex couples from receiving federal spousal benefits.
After former President Barack Obama instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to defend DOMA in court, McCarthy joined a coalition of Republicans who supported DOMA's legal defense.
At the time, McCarthy said that he believed it was imperative to uphold DOMA simply because it was already in place:
""The rule of law keeps America strong. When you break down the rule of law, you break down society. So the idea that the House defends what becomes law is ... very responsible."
"There can't be a system where "somebody decides, 'Well, that's law, but I just don't like it.' It doesn't matter what the issue is. We have a court system."
"We have a rule of law we go through. And I think you have to go through the system."
McCarthy kept true to his word.
When DOMA reached the Supreme Court in 2013, he joined then-House Speaker John Boehner and then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor in signing a legal brief in defense of the law.
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