George Santos criticized gay marriage on his own wedding anniversary: 'It should have been a civil union'

• George Santos sat down with a group of reporters the day before he was expelled.
• He criticized the institution of same-sex marriage, saying he prefers civil unions.
• "To force that on society was a problem," he said.

There were many historic aspects of Rep. George Santos's short tenure in Congress.

One of the less recognized was his status as the first non-incumbent, openly gay Republican elected Congress, particularly at a time when LGBTQ rights have once again become a target of the right.

And in a sit-down with a group of reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday — the day before his historic expulsion from Congress — the scandal-plagued Republican took a swipe at what most consider to be the foremost achievement of the LGBTQ rights movement.

"I was an opposer of gay marriage," Santos said in response to a question about his relationships with more conservative House Republicans, according to audio obtained by Business Insider.

It just so happened to be the two-year anniversary of his own gay marriage to his husband, Matt.

Santos said that he entered into such a marriage "because that was the option," but did not believe it should be called "marriage" and that the government should not be involved in the institution.

"I thought it should have been a civil union," said Santos, referring to the alternative to fully-recognized marriage that some proposed prior to the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015. "It would have given us the same benefits, the same rights under the law."

"Making it marriage was never the business of the government," he said. "I'm not saying I oppose just gay marriage. I oppose marriage by the government in general."

"To force that on society was a problem," he added. "That is why we're still debating, right?"

It's not the first time Santos has made arguments that run counter to the rest of the LGBTQ community.

Also on Thursday, Santos posed with a sign produced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's office declaring that there are only two genders.

And as a candidate, Santos endorsed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Law — known to critics as "Don't Say Gay" — and said Gov. Ron DeSantis had his "full-blown support" for signing the law.

"As a gay man, I stand proudly behind not teaching our children sex or sexual orientation," he said in a Facebook video in April 2022.