John Kasich on Ky. clerk Kim Davis: 'She should follow the law,' issue gay marriage license
John Kasich, who opposes gay marriage, thinks a Kentucky clerk should issue same-sex marriage licenses despite her religious beliefs.
Rowan County clerk Kim Davis is sitting in jail indefinitely after defying court orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Conservatives have cheered her for standing on her personal religious beliefs, saying the government is persecuting her.
Even though Davis personally opposes same-sex marriage, she's a government employee, Kasich told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
"She's not running a church. I wouldn't force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility, I think she has to comply," said Kasich, Ohio governor and a GOP presidential candidate. He doesn't think she should sit in jail, he said, but "I think she should follow the law."
Kim Davis stands her ground - in jail
Battles over same-sex marriage might turn young people away from Christianity, said Kasich, a Protestant.
"When we see these kind of battles going on, I get a little bit afraid that it turns people off to the idea of faith in God," he said. "I think we need to talk a lot about the do's, about humility, about helping our neighbor, about the need to live a life bigger than ourselves."
Kasich oversees the Ohio Department of Health, which lost the Supreme Court case in June that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide instead of allowing states such as Ohio to ban the practice. Despite his personal opposition to gay marriage, Kasich has said he thinks Americans should accept and follow the ruling of the Supreme Court.
Kasich's pragmatic approach -- he supports Medicaid expansion, Common Core and "legalizing" people who are in the U.S. illegally -- has attracted attention in New Hampshire, site of the nation's first primary. He is polling in second place in the Granite State, behind billionaire Donald Trump.
But Kasich's stance has frustrated some conservatives, who have accused him of political correctness.
"Governor Kasich's hurt himself badly by hiding behind the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to force same-sex marriage on all 50 states," said Phil and Vickie Burress, who lead Citizens for Community Values Action, in a statement after the first GOP debate.
In the debate, Kasich had said he opposes same-sex marriage, but would accept and love his daughters if they were gay.
"Issues like that are planted to divide us," he said. "God gives me unconditional love. I'm going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me."