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Schwarzenegger reveals he officiated two gay weddings while Calif. governor

Schwarzenegger reveals he officiated two gay weddings while Calif. governor

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who maintained a public position of opposing same-sex marriage, revealed in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday that he presided over two ceremonies of gay couples while in office.

Schwarzenegger, who was California’s governor from 2003 until early 2011, publicly opposed legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, twice vetoing legislation that would have done just that.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. (CBS)

But in his interview with CBS’ Lesley Stahl, Schwarzenegger said he officiated two same-sex wedding ceremonies while in office — one involving his chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, and the other, an assistant who worked for him.

But Schwarzenegger adds that doesn’t mean he’s for gay marriage.

“I don’t have to be for gay marriage. I’m for that she (Kennedy) gets the kind of wedding and the kind of ceremony that I had when I got married with Maria (Shriver),” he said.

“I, personally, always said that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Schwarzenegger said. “But I would never enforce my will on people.”

“If they want to get married, let them get married.”

In May 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, opening a brief window in which gay and lesbian couples could legally marry in California. Months later, voters approved Proposition 8, amending the state’s Constitution to include such a prohibition.

The ban was overturned by a federal judge in 2010, and a review of the case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, which could decide to hear an appeal during the current term, which opens Monday.

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