Some congressmen stick their feet in their mouths. Others struggle just to get words to come out of them.
Enter Republican Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois. The lawmaker, who’s mulling a 2014 bid for governor, repeatedly stumbled when asked to explain his position on gay marriage. Lawmakers in the state will likely consider legislation to legalize gay marriage in the state later this month.
“Uh, Well, I—I just haven’t,” Schock told reporters. He was pressed to elaborate and didn’t seem to fare much better. “I think everybody has a set of beliefs on issues, social issues in particular that are a reflection of how they were raised and their set of beliefs,” Schock said. “And so, first I would say it is probably more of my upbringing and faith values. So that’s number one. Number two, I think we are all a reflection of who we represent. And then third, I think why you are seeing some of these changes in laws is because people’s views in society have changed,” he said.
Schock has previously voiced opposition to gay marriage.
Hardball host Chris Matthews weighed in on Friday. “Let's say you're a U.S. Congressman in a state that's expected to take up the issue of gay marriage in the coming weeks. And let's say you have a history of supporting a federal amendment that would ban it entirely. In those circumstances you might expect it to be a hot topic with reporters... right?” Matthews asked. Schock, he said, “apparently never saw it coming.”
Check out the Sideshow video above to watch Schock try to explain his stance on gay marriage.