Perry and Bachmann have made conflicting statements on gay marriage

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/perry-and-bachmann-have/2011/08/29/gIQALeJmnJ_blog.html

The tea party has backed Republicans into a corner when it comes to states’ rights and gay marriage.

The clash is between two converging branches of the conservative movement: the social conservatives who wants to outlaw gay marriage at all costs, and the newly in vogue brand of tea party federalists holding that, regardless of how you feel about the controversial issue, it’s a matter for the states.

Already, 2012 presidential contenders and tea-party favorites Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) have essentially taken both sides – supporting the idea that states should have the right to decide the issue but also backing a federal amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. That amendment, of course, would effectively take the issue out of the states’ hands, so it’s hard to marry (no pun intended) the two positions.

At a debate a couple months ago, Rep. Bachmann even took those two positions in the space of a few minutes. For Gov. Perry, his position has been a little unclear for a while now – at least, until the Texas governor signed a pledge Friday favoring a constitutional amendment