ATLANTA – The three candidates in the race for governor in Georgia said Thursday they oppose a federal judge’s ruling in California overturning that state’s ban on gay marriage.
Republicans Nathan Deal and Karen Handel – locked in an Aug. 10 runoff for their party’s nomination – each reiterated their opposition to gay marriage. Georgia has a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Deal said the ruling “undermines the credibility of the judicial system and outrages Georgians in both parties.”
The former congressman from Gainesville said regulation of marriage is a state issue and “as governor, I’ll defend Georgia’s marriage law vigorously.”
Handel noted that freedom to marry is not a right and said “there are many restrictions on who can marry whom.”