Palin supports federal gay marriage ban (VIDEO)

In Lancaster, Pennsylvania over the weekend, Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin aired support for federal-level marriage discrimination to the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody:

"In my own state, I have voted, along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote, to amend our constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that's where we would go, because I don't support gay marriage. You know, I'm not going to be up there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment, telling them what they can and can't do, or should and should not do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage, and that's casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage. That instrument, it's the foundation of our society ...that strong family, and that's based on that traditional definition of marriage."
Palin stopped short of supporting a federal gay marriage ban during her debate with opponent Sen. Joseph Biden on October 2. Touting a diverse group of friends and family, the Governor said that while she respected people's right to enter into legal contracts with one another and make their own decisions, "I'm being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non-support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage."

Alaska voters, 68%-32%, amended the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriages in 1998 with Ballot Measure 2. As of January 2007, the state does offer employment benefits to the partners of state employees per a state Supreme Court ruling which Palin ultimately grudgingly accepted on constitutional grounds.

Palin and running mate Sen. John McCain have previously said that they were supporters of states' rights. "I think it should be a states' issue not a federal government-mandated--mandating yes or no on such an important issue," Palin told CBS' Katie Couric in her September interview on the topic of Roe v. Wade. "I'm, in that sense, a federalist, where I believe that states should have more say in the laws of their lands and individual areas...and I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that."

"I'm a federalist," Senator McCain told George Stephanopoulos in November 2006. "Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so do I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states." McCain opposed the 2004 Federal Marriage Amendment.

The following video is from CBN.com, released on October 20, 2008