Presidential Candidate Bachmann Would Back Federal Amendment Banning Gay Marriage Presidential Candidate Bachmann Would Back Federal Amendment Banning Gay Marriage

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Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, who will officially announce her run for president Monday, said today she would support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman, thereby overturning New York's new law legalizing gay marriage.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Bachmann said that if she were elected president she would back an amendment to define marriage as "between a man and a woman."

She said that the issue of gay marriage should be "up to the people of New York" and be put on to the ballot for a vote. Any state that has held a ballot referendum on the issue has always affirmed traditional marriage, she added.

"Every time it's going on the ballot, the people have decided to keep the traditional definition," she said. "After all, the family is the fundamental unit of government."

The Minnesota congresswoman said that "federal law will trump state law on this issue."

"States have, under the 10th Amendment, the right to pass any law they like. Also, federal officials at the federal level have the right to also put forth a constitutional amendment," said Bachmann.

For a federal constitutional amendment to pass, it would require two-thirds approval by Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states.

"It's a high hurdle," Bachmann acknowledged. "We only have 27 amendments to the federal Constitution."

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Bachmann also spoke about a federal constitutional marriage amendment and the gay marriage issue during a Sunday appearance on CBS' "Face of the Nation." She reiterated the comments she made during a New Hampshire debate for 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls on June 13, telling CBS that the gay marriage issue will ultimately end up in the courts.

"I think what we know is that, ultimately, you have all the various laws in the various states. There'll be a conflict if someone from ... New York, for instance, moves to a state where marriage is between a man [and] a woman, will these marriages be recognized. Ultimately, it'll go to the courts," said Bachmann on CBS Sunday.

In the New Hampshire debate, Bachmann had stated, "One thing that we do know on marriage, this issue will ultimately end up in the courts, in the Supreme Court. I do not believe the judges should be legislating from the bench."

Bachmann, who has placed first and second in the latest polls of 2012 Republican candidates, will formally declare her candidacy Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, where she was born.