Legal Commentary

Palin On Pot, Civil Unions, Gay Marriage and Abortion

By Jeralyn

When running for Governor in 2006, Sarah Palin was interviewed by the Anchorage Daily News. Among her dislosures: She tried pot but didn't like it and opposed civil unions as well as gay marriage and abortion. Quotes below:

Palin doesn't support legalizing marijuana, worrying about the message it would send to her four kids. But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority.

Palin said she has smoked marijuana -- remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law -- but says she didn't like it and doesn't smoke it now. "I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled."

On gay rights: [More...]

In October, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled the state couldn't deny spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees. That means that while Alaska has banned gay marriage, it can't withhold, say, health insurance from a state employee's gay partner.

... Elected 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.

She supported the 1998 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Palin said she's not out to judge anyone and has good friends who are gay, but that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment.

On abortion:

In 2002, when she was running for lieutenant governor, Palin sent an e-mail to the anti-abortion Alaska Right to Life Board saying she was as "pro-life as any candidate can be" and has "adamantly supported our cause since I first understood, as a child, the atrocity of abortion."

Update: Firedoglake has more about Palin on the issues.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 30, 2008 (boomark / email).