Bachmann clarifies surprising 'gay' marriage remark

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., long a champion of Christian and conservative values, raised some eyebrows with comments reportedly made at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Gay activist Michelangelo Signorile, who writes for the Huffington Post, claimed Bachmann suggested same-sex marriage is "not an issue" in an interview he conducted with the congresswoman on Sirius XM Progress.

"In fact, it's boring," she said.

In a follow-up interview with WND, however, Bachmann clarified her comments.

"What I said is that this won't be the issue that drives the 2014 election," Bachmann said. "I told the reporter it's getting boring having them only press this issue with Republicans while ignoring Democrats.

"The media loves to divide us on this issue. They look for something all the time," Bachmann told WND. "I said nothing different. I'm the woman who carried the traditional marriage amendment in Minnesota, and I stand firm in my belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman."

Bachmann's aide told WND she wasn't brushing off the radio host, she was merely making a quick, parting comment as she was leaving.

Though the topic of marriage has been a hot-button issue in the last few elections, several states have begun issuing same-sex marriage licenses, and candidates for 2014 have had less to say on the matter.

When asked initially about Bachmann's comments, Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said he wanted clarification about "what Representative Bachmann meant when she said that."

Nonetheless, he insisted, the debate over same-sex marriage is "far from settled."

"We've got a long way to go," he said. "Unfortunately, there are people in the conservative movement who have sort of given up. There are even evangelical leaders sending signals that the battle is over, that the battle is lost. 'We'll never be able to capture the millennials. They're gone.' I think it's way premature for that. You know, when the homosexual lobby was 0 and 31 [having lost at the ballot in 31 states on marriage], the gay lobby didn't quit. They didn't give up. They didn't do it. They didn't give up, and neither are we."