Iowa Rep. Steve King, a Republican, on Thursday told a crowd in Iowa that the Supreme Court's ruling striking down gay marriage bans in all 50 states means “you can marry my lawnmower.”

King, a vocal opponent of LGBT rights, made the comment in the course of introducing Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

King is also quoted making the remark in a July 7 article in an Iowa newspaper.

“I had a strong, Christian lawyer tell me yesterday that, under this decision that he has read, what it brings about is: It only requires one human being in this relationship – that you could marry your lawnmower with this decision. I think he's right,” King told the Dickinson County News.

In that same interview, King also lamented the 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision that brought marriage equality to the Midwest, saying it was a “heavy blow to us here in Iowa.”

King said that if the states do not reject the Supreme Court's ruling, “then our next alternative is to go into the states, state by state, and simply abolish civil marriage.”