WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush voiced hope on Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court would let states decide on the legality of gay marriage but said he would serve as a witness at a same-sex wedding if he were asked.
"Sure I would," Bush said when asked during an interview on ABC's "World News Tonight" if he would be willing to witness a gay wedding ceremony like his father, former President George H.W. Bush, did in Maine in 2013.
"I would if they were friends and I cared for them, of course I would," the former Florida governor said.
The Supreme Court is set to decide this month on whether to legalize gay marriage nationwide. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 36 states and Washington, D.C. In a 37th, Alabama, a federal court struck down the state's gay-marriage ban but the state Supreme Court has stopped local officials from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
Bush said in a radio interview last month before announcing his candidacy that he did not believe the U.S. Constitution granted a right to gay marriage.
Among likely Republican primary voters, 68 percent oppose gay marriage, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling data. But a majority of Republicans would attend the same-sex wedding of a loved one, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed in April.
