Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld couldn’t say whether or not he supported marriage equality in an interview this week with Larry King, but he did suggest that allowing gay couples to marry could kind of, sort of, lead to polygamy.
“I listened to some of the Supreme Court justices and one of them said, ‘Well, what’s next after that? Is it two people, three people?” said Rumsfeld before being cut off by King, who reminded the 80-year-old of his strong Congressional record as a civil rights advocate.
“I guess I just don’t equate the two,” said Rumsfeld, of the 1960s civil rights movement and the campaign for marriage equality. “I guess the Rumsfeld rule here is: I don’t know.”
In 2011, Rumsfeld endorsed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, telling ABC News Radio that “the time has come” for gay men and women to serve openly in the military. “We’ve seen it evolve in our country,” he said of the nation’s embrace of gay rights. And while dozens of lawmakers have also “evolved” on marriage equality since the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Rumsfeld appears to be taking his time.
Emma Margolin
Emma Margolin is a reporter at MSNBC.com. Recommended
