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SALT LAKE CITY — Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck weighed in on the issue of same-sex marriage recently, saying he defends the right for gay couples to marry.
Speaking with comedic magician Penn Jillette in a segment on Beck's online talk show, the two discussed gay marriage, freedom and the Constitution.
"Let me take the pro-gay marriage people and the religious people — I believe that there is a connecting dot there that nobody is looking at, and that's the Constitution," Beck said. "The question is not whether gay people should be married or not. The question is why is the government involved in our marriage?"
Beck has made similar comments in the past, saying in January: "I have exactly the same opinion on gay marriage that President Obama has, unless he's lying." He has further said he doesn't believe same-sex marriage is a threat to the country.
And while the comments are in opposition to the Republican Party platform, Beck speaks about the larger discussion surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage, arguing that those who follow the Constitution would be the "ultimate big tent" party.
"What we need to do, I think, as people who believe in the Constitution, is to start looking for allies who believe in the Constitution and expand our own horizon," Beck said. "We would have the ultimate big tent."
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear California's Prop 8 appeal, where citizens voted down a law that would allow gay couples to marry. The high court will also address the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as one man and one woman.
Extinct lizard named after Pres. Obama
Scientists at Yale and Harvard recently discovered a small, insect-eating lizard found in Montana after re-examining fossil collections from around the country. The scientists decided to name the extinct animal after President Barack Obama, the Boston Globe reports, calling it "Obamadon gracilis."
Yale paleontologist Nicholas Longrich said the small animal with the slender jaw appeared to be a perfect fit. However, Longrich wanted to wait until after the presidential election to make the name official.
"I was seriously thinking, if the election had gone the other way, I would have yanked it," he said. "It might have seemed like we were mocking it, naming a lizard that goes extinct after that, seemed kind of cruel."
Other news:
- National Journal has compiled the 21 strangest political quotes of 2012, which includes Mitt Romney's 47 percent comments and President Barack Obama's "You didn't build that" comments.
- Following the defeat in the 2012 presidential race, Republicans are looking inward to see what went wrong. RNC chairman Reince Priebus has asked five respected party leaders to see how the party can attract voters and learn from the Democrats.
