Pelosi said she believes some voters might have misunderstood the ballot question, which was approved 52 percent to 48 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

Proposition 8 overturned a Supreme Court decision this year that legalized gay marriage.

"Unfortunately, I think people thought they were making a statement about what their view of same-sex marriage was," Pelosi said. "I don't know if it was clear that this meant that we are amending the Constitution to diminish freedom in our state."

When asked if San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's comments after the ruling that same-sex marriages were "going to happen, whether you like it or not," affected support for the measure after it was aired in a television ad for the measure, Pelosi said Newsom should not be blamed.

"He acted upon his beliefs. He feels very strongly that there should not be discrimination and that fairness should prevail for all parts of our society," she said. "Some may say there are political risks, but I know the (bigger) political risk for him was to do what he didn't believe, and he would never do that."