Scott Walker is NOT against gay marriage, say same-sex couple

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Wisconsin governor posed with his wife's cousin and her new bride three days after state court struck down anti same-sex wedding law
Walker said he supported emergency measure to stop same-sex marriages then went to Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem's reception
The next month Walker wrote to conservative group he wanted to endorse him and said: 'I support marriage between one man and one woman.'
But same-sex couple tell Daily Mail Online: 'He has been nothing but supportive of our relationship and wanted us to have love in our lives.'
Walker will formally announce he is running for Republican White House nomination next week

By Louise Boyle In Madison, Wisconsin, For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:16 EST, 10 July 2015 | Updated: 12:11 EST, 10 July 2015

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This is Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, pictured at the wedding reception of one of the first gay couples to marry in his state – who told Daily Mail Online today that they do not believe the presidential hopeful is against same-sex marriage.

He smiled with the newlyweds at their reception, which came weeks after a judge struck down an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman - a move the governor vowed to overturn.

On June 6, 2014, a federal judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit challenging a 2006 amendment to Wisconsin's constitution, after a public vote, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, prompting a rush of same-sex couples getting wedding licenses.

Among the first to marry were Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem who married on June 9 at a civil courthouse ceremony in Waukesha County.

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Joyful day: Scott Walker and his wife Tonette flank the newly-married couple, Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem, who wed two days after state courts ruled same-sex weddings could go ahead

Delighted: Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem had posted a picture of an outline of Wisconsin with a heart in the middle to signal their joy at the ending of court challenges to same-sex weddings there - then married three days later

Friends: Since the same-sex marriage reception the married couple have posted their support for Scott Walker and acted as joint hosts with him of an Independence Day reception at his official residence

Reception: The scene at the Independence Day reception with Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem, Scott Walker's sons Alexander (left) and Matt (right), and (center) the couple's son

The couple had then been together for 17 years and have a son, now 16. Ms Marquardt's cousin is Tonette Walker, the governor's wife, and she has known Mr Walker for 23 years.

Speaking from their home in Hartland, Wisconsin, Ms Priem told Daily Mail Online today: 'I don't think that he is against same-sex marriage.'

Ms Marquardt, 48, said: 'He has been nothing but supportive of our relationship and wanted us to have love in our lives. He attended our reception last August 9. He is a faithful person who tries to love everyone and not to judge.'

Ms Priem, 55, said that Scott Walker was an inclusive person and had gay and lesbian people working for him when he was the Milwaukee County Executive.

Walker did not attend the courthouse ceremony of Ms Marquardt and Ms Priem last year.

In attendance were an officiant and two witnesses. One was the couple's best man - Walker's 19-year-old college student son, Alex.

On August 9, the couple held a reception at the Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee. Joining them to celebrate their happiness was the governor.

Love on the dancefloor: Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem and friends at the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee where they had their reception

Venue: The Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee, WI, where Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem had their reception

Entertaining: The reception featured dancers in elaborate costumes and on stilts. The next month the newly-married couple were co-hosts of a July 4 reception at the governor's official residence

The celebration was declared 'joyous' and a 'fun night' by wedding guests who enjoyed a performance by a gospel choir before dancing on a neon-lit floor.

Taking part in the celebration was a stark contrast for Walker from two months earlier.

When the federal judge's ruling endorsed same-sex weddings on June 6, the governor backed state attorney general JB Van Hollen's filing of an emergency request for a stay.

He said it was a matter of defending the Constitution. If he had been successful in an immediate stay, Ms Marquardt and Ms Priem's wedding and subsequent reception would not have happened.

The apparent clear difference of opinion between the governor and the newlyweds did not surface in public.

In the weeks between the wedding ceremony and the reception, the two couples jointly hosted a 'Happy Independence Day' BBQ at the Governor's Residence in Madison, with entertainment from rock and country band, Boogie and the Yo Yo'Z.

Ms Marquardt and Ms Priem support Walker's aspirations, telling Daily Mail Online that they believe he should be the next president 'on his politics and his fiscal conservatism'.

Ms Marquardt said: 'We have a caring relationship with Scott based on mutual respect and love. His integrity carries on in his family life and his governing.'

On a personal level, she said that Walker was a great person to spend time with.

'He is a fabulous father and husband. He's an All-American guy, loves the [Green Bay] Packers. When we are with family, 99 per cent of the time we don't talk about politics.'

Ms Marquardt added that their teenage son was close with the governor's two sons, Matt, 21, and Alex, and had grown up alongside each other.

Both women are active in the Walkers' political campaigning and public life.

Ms Marquardt, the CEO of Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph foundation, sits with Tonnette Walker on the Wisconsin's First Lady Advisory Council.

Ms Priem, who is a real estate agent, on the Wisconsin Executive Residence Foundation with Mrs Walker.

During his gubernatorial re-election campaign last fall, Ms Marquardt posted a picture on social media of her among a large group of women holding signs which read: 'We stand with Scott Walker.'

Ms Marquardt said: 'We are excited for Scott as he pursues the Republican nomination for President.

'We love the Walkers and think they are wonderful, we are blessed to have them as family and are proud to have them as our friends.'

Contrast: This was the letter Scott Walker wrote seeking the support of Wisconsin Family Action in which he said he wanted a constitutional amendment to secure marriage as between 'one man and one woman'

Target: Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, to whom Scott Walker wrote his letter backing a constitutional same-sex wedding ban

The photograph of the two couples at the reception - which is publicly available on social media - is published by Daily Mail Online after Mrs Walker spoke about same-sex marriage in an interview in the Washington Post.

She said that the family was divided on issue of same sex marriage, with she and the couple's two sons, Alex and Matt differing from the governor.

Ms Marquardt and Ms Priem both use social media to back same-sex marriage. On June 29, Ms Marquardt changed her Facebook profile picture to be washed with a rainbow flag to celebrate Pride.

Following the Supreme Court decision on June 26 to allow gay couples to marry nationwide, Ms Marquardt shared pictures on social media of an American flag and rainbow flag flying together outside the court, a United States map drenched in rainbow colors and two women holding hands and waving the rainbow flag, with the comment: '#LOVEWINS.'

At the same time, Walker declared the SCOTUS decision a 'grave mistake'.

He has campaigned for political office on the values of traditional marriage, stating: 'I support marriage between one man and one woman.'

The governor supported and voted for the 2006 amendment to the Wisconsin state constitution that defined marriage in such a way - making gay marriage impossible in the state.

In 2010, during his first run for governor, the Republican stated that he was against a law which allowed same-sex couples certain rights including being called next-of-kin in hospital documents.

Earlier this year, Walker acknowledged that he had attended the gay wedding reception of Ms Marquardt and Ms Priem, but went out of his way to say he was not at the wedding ceremony.

Old church: Scott Walker and his family had worshipped at the Underwood Memorial Baptist Church. A few months after it voiced its support for same-sex weddings and planted a rainbow flag on its lawn, the family changed their regular place of worship

New church: The Walker family now worship at the more socially conservative Meadowbrook Church

'That's certainly a personal issue. For a family member, Tonette and I and our family have already had a family member who's had a reception. I haven't been at a wedding,' he told MSNBC in a little-noted interview in April.

A socially conservative group, who previously endorsed Walker for governor, said he was treading carefully.

Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, told Daily Mail Online: 'I think he did what he thought was an appropriate balancing act between his private life and his public life.'

When the Republican ran for governor in 2014, he was endorsed late in his campaign by WFA after he personally sent a letter to Ms Appling.

In the September 5 letter, he laid out his position on all of their issues, from abortion and education to tax cuts and concealed carry laws for weapons.

He also included a statement on same-sex marriage: 'I am defending the Constitutional amendment that defines marriage between one man and one woman. This amendment was passed by the people of the State of Wisconsin and I gave my oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. I support marriage between one man and one woman.'

Ms Appling who said WFA was 'cautious and prudent in their endorsements' told Daily Mail Online: 'We endorsed him on his record and what he had put in that letter.'

She conceded that Mr Walker had not always made his case on same-sex marriage well but that she believed he had done everything in office to defend the institution.

'Has Scott Walker messaged well on marriage?' Ms Appling said.

Close: Scott Walker with her cousin Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem. Tonette Walker indicated this week that she and her husband are not united on the same-sex marriage issue.

Family affair: The official barbecue at the executive mansion was hosted by the governor, his wife, and the newly married couple. Pauline Dalton is the stepmother of Shelli Marquardt, and Tonette Walker's aunt

Seeking support: Last month Scott Walker campaigned near Des Moines, Iowa, ahead of his formal announcement next week that he will run for the White House. He emphasized his closeness to the Republican base by riding a Harley

'No. I think he's left question marks in people's minds. But if you look at what he's done, I think that's the truth about who Scott Walker is.'

Since the Supreme Court decision last month making gay marriage 'the law of the land', Walker has stepped up his rhetoric about constitutional amendment, turning on the 'five unelected judges' for their decision to redefine marriage.

He said the only alternative was an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing states to take the definition of marriage into their own hands define.

Walker said: 'The states are the proper place for these decision to be made, and as we have seen repeatedly over the last few days, we will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our land without interjecting their own political agendas.'

The day after the SCOTUS decision, at a Saturday night Western Conservative Summit in Denver, Colorado, he added: 'We should respect the opinions of others in America, but that in return means that they not only respect our opinions, they respect what is written in the Constitution.'

Walker is set to officially launch himself into the Republican race for presidential nominee, with an event scheduled in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Monday afternoon.

In the past few months, he has been traveling the U.S., speaking at conservative functions and fundraising.

Over the past week, Walker has been posting a segment of his presidential campaign logo each day on Instagram and tweeted an image of himself next to the American flag with a statement: 'It begins.'

It can also be disclosed that Walker left his Baptist church in their home town of Wauwatosa after 13 years – and just months after it became a gay-friendly congregation.

Pastor Jamie Washam told Daily Mail Online that Walker had joined Underwood Memorial Baptist Church in 1992 but 'transferred his membership' in 2005.

Although the pastor could not say why Walker had left the church, she said that Underwood 'had voted to out themselves' as a gay-friendly congregation in May 2004.

The church, which displays a rainbow flag on its welcome sign, also supports gay marriage and states on its website: 'All, and we do mean ALL, are welcome here.'

The Walker family now worship at the more socially conservative Meadowbrook Church, a short distance from their old congregation, The New York Times reported.

Among the other Republican candidates, the response to the SCOTUS same-sex marriage decision has been mixed.

Scott Walker speaks out during Iowa 'Roast and Ride' event

Public declaration: Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem and their son, 16, posted this Facebook profile picture to mark their support for same-sex marriage

Official: A copy of Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem's official wedding certificate, issued three days after Scott Walker backed the Wisconsin attorney-general's call for a stay on gay weddings

Witness: Alex Walker, the Wisconsin governor's son acted as one of two official witnesses. Although the governor's staff acknowledged this at the time, it was never disclosed that Scott Walker had been at the reception

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has already joined the Republican race, said the Supreme Court had attacked the rights of religious conservatives.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee used even stronger wording when he said the decision was judicial tyranny and must be resisted and rejected.

Candidate Huckabee said the Supreme Court decided to 'unwrite the laws of nature and the laws of nature's God' with its decision.

Carly Fiorina, who has also thrown her hat into the race, said she supported civil unions but wanted to direct attention to maintaining religious freedom in businesses.

Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, said the decision needs to be in the hands of each individual state.

Rick Santorum also weighed in, saying the ruling was 'based on a lie' that people who opposed the legislation 'hate people who want to marry people of the same sex'.

'That is not true,' the former Pennsylvania governor added.

Jeb Bush, governor of Florida and a front-runner in the race, was more moderate in his statement: 'In a country as diverse as ours, good people who have opposing views should be able to live side by side'. His campaign later said Bush would be against efforts to ban same-sex marriage with Constitutional amendments.

Walker is widely seen as being at the front of the GOP field, appealing to conservatives with his anti-unions stance, his focus on the economy and jobs, and pro-life position.

This year, he has pushed to turn Wisconsin into a right-to-work state where employers and unions are barred from requiring all workers pay union dues regardless of whether they are members.

Walker has been scoring well in some early polls as he continues to appeal to conservative priorities in his state by cutting income and corporate taxes, lowering property taxes, legalizing the carrying of concealed weapons and made abortions difficult to obtain.

Ms Appling said: 'The United States of America could do a lot worse than Scott Walker.'

His office has not responded to requests for comment.