Scott Walker presidential campaign, 2016/Gay rights

	; ; Former presidential candidate; Scott Walker
	Political offices: ; Governor of Wisconsin; (2011-2019); Milwaukee County Executive; (2002-2010); Wisconsin State Assembly; (1993-2002)
	Walker on the issues:
	Taxes • Government regulations • International trade • Budgets • Agricultural subsidies • Federal assistance programs • Foreign affairs • Federalism • Natural resources • Healthcare • Immigration • Education • Abortion • Gay rights
	Republican candidate:
	Donald Trump
	Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage; 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

Scott Walker suspended his presidential campaign on September 21, 2015.^[1]

Ballotpedia's scope changes periodically, and this article type is no longer actively created or maintained. It may also contain neutrality issues.

This page was current as of the 2016 election.

In an August 2015 interview on Newsmax TV, Scott Walker said he would not lift the ban on transgender soldiers serving openly in the military. “I wouldn’t change the policy and I think at a time when we just came off the week when four Marines and a petty officer in the Navy were ambushed and killed at a recruiting center, where we see the current administration under the Obama-Clinton doctrine not lifting the political restrictions on our men and women in uniform in Iraq, when we see the challenges we face around the world, I think those of us who are talking about running for president need to focus on what we need to do to rebuild the military,” Walker said.^[2]^[3]

Following the Boy Scouts of America's decision to lift its ban on gay troop leaders in July 2015, Walker, a former Eagle Scout, expressed his disapproval of the decision, saying, "I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values."^[4]

The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional on June 26, 2015. Following the decision, Walker said, "Five unelected judges have taken it upon themselves to redefine the institution of marriage, an institution that the author of this decision acknowledges ‘has been with us for millennia.' In 2006 I, like millions of Americans, voted to amend our state constitution to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism." He went on, calling for a constitutional amendment to allow states to decided the issue. "As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage. I call on the president and all governors to join me in reassuring millions of Americans that the government will not force them to participate in activities that violate their deeply held religious beliefs. No one wants to live in a country where the government coerces people to act in opposition to their conscience. We will continue to fight for the freedoms of all Americans."^[5]

Shortly after Walker made his comments on the Supreme Court ruling, his wife, Tonette Walker, told The Washington Post that the issue was a source of tension in her family. Her sons support same-sex marriage, while Mrs. Walker herself has said that she is "torn" on the issue. She said, "Our sons were very disappointed. I was torn. I have children who are very passionate, and Scott was on his side very passionate. It's hard for me because I have a cousin who I love dearly — she is like a sister to me — who is married to a woman, her partner of 18 years."^[6]

Rick Santorum, one of Walker's 2016 GOP opponents, seized on these comments, saying, "Spouses matter. When your spouse is not in-sync with you — particularly on cultural issues, moral issues — [you] tend not to be as active on those issues."^[6]

In 2014, Walker declined to state a position on same-sex marriage, saying, "It doesn't really matter what I think now. It's in the constitution."^[7]

While appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 2013, Walker questioned why the government is involved in sanctioning marriages. He suggested, instead, that marriage could be defined by churches and synagogues.^[8]

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