California gubernatorial candidate and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman says that gays in her state should be allowed to adopt children but not legally marry.
Whitman, the top Republican in the race so far, said that she favored allowing gay couples to adopt because "many kids need a great home." However, when it came to marriage equality, she said the term "marriage" should apply only to heterosexual couples, according to the
San Jose Mercury News.Equality California raised a red flag on Whitman in February, when the organization urged its supporters not to vote for her,due to her stance against gay marriage.
"She's trying to buy the governor's office with ads that fail to tell the true story about who she really is - an anti-equality candidate who has fought to eliminate the rights of LGBT people in an attempt to drum up conservative support to win an election," Equality California wrote in an e-mail to supporters.
Courage Campaign, a progressive statewide organization that lobbies for gay marriage, launched an ad campaign against Whitman last month. It also said that she falsely attempts to present herself as a moderate candidate and called her "California's Sarah Palin."
In the interview with the
Mercury News, Whitman described herself as "extraordinary fiscal conservative" who is "moderate to conservative" on social issues.
In a
Rasmussen poll released February 16, Whitman was tied in the governor's race with current attorney general Jerry Brown, who is seeking the Democratic nomination. Brown, who was California's governor from 1975 to 1983, had been posting a lead over Whitman until recently.
As attorney general, Brown argued against Proposition 8, which repealed marriage rights for gays and lesbians.
