House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he and his half-sister, who is a lesbian, see most things differently, but he likes to keep his family separate from his job.
"I have a sister who I love a lot, who is my younger sister, period. I don't necessarily mix my family with my politics, period," he said Monday, during a meeting with 28-year-old Candace Gingrich.He readily acknowledged their different views: "She's a liberal Democrat. I'm a conservative Republican."
Candace Gingrich, who lives in Harrisburg, Pa., came to Congress as part of a daylong lobbying effort by the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest gay and lesbian political group.
She met with Pennsylvania lawmakers to urge them to continue funding for AIDS and to seek protection for gays and lesbians, who are often discriminated against in the workplace.
Asked repeatedly by reporters throughout her day on Capitol Hill if she felt her brother was anti-gay, Candace Gingrich said no.
"He's just maybe uninformed," she said. "Maybe he hasn't had people from both sides giving him information."
Candace Gingrich was asked whether she would try to persuade her brother to share her views. She said she hoped to talk to him about them - that was a start.
The two, who have the same mother, are 23 years apart in age.