Hartzler to Gay People: Don't Feel Bad About Marriage Bans

If a state votes to bar you from getting married, "you shouldn't feel bad," according to the advice of Rep. Vicky Hartzler.

The Missouri Republican told a gay college student who confronted her after a town meeting that even though her state voted in 2004 to amend its constitution so same-sex marriage is illegal, he shouldn't take it personally.

"How do you think that makes young people like me who are gay feel about ourselves to come up in a society that to us seems like it doesn't value me?" the student asks in a video posted on YouTube and reported on by The Huffington Post.

"We are not the ones changing the policy, so you shouldn't feel bad at all," Hartlzer quickly responds.

When the student balked at the suggestion he should have no reaction to his marriage being legally banned, Hartzler again insisted he shouldn't feel the way he does.

"It has been the law of the land for a long time, marriage as a policy has been between a man and a woman," she explains calmly. "All we did in 2004 is just put that in the constitution, so we are not changing policy at all, so you shouldn't feel bad."

The student in the video was identified only as Alex and attends the University of Missouri, according to the post on YouTube. He also asked Hartzler about comments the congresswoman made warning that letting gays marry would be like letting 3-year-olds drive cars. She insisted the incident, which was also recorded on video, "was a misunderstanding. That was really taken out of context."

Hartzler seems a little uneasy about being on tape. At the start of the conversation, she asks the student, "First of all, are you guys with the Democrats or the Republicans? I just want to know, are you friendly or are you not?"