Romney's Views On Gay Marriage: Also Evolvg? : NPR

Contents:

• ROMNEY'S VIEWS ON GAY MARRIAGE: ALSO EVOLVG?
• MT ROMNEY ON GAY MARRIAGE
• MT ROMNEY'S GAY SPOKMAN: A MILTONE REPUBLIN POLICS
• MT ROMNEY ON GAY RIGHTS OVER THE YEARS
• MT ROMNEY DODG GAY MARRIAGE LIBERTY UNIVERSY SPEECHHOT TOPICMICHELLE GOLDBERG ON WHY ROMNEY SKIRTED THE THORNY ISSUE.MICHELLE GOLDBERGUPDATED APR. 24, 2017 11:56AM EDT / PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2012 3:20PM EDT JIM WATSON, AFP / GETTY IMAGIF YOU’RE FEELG OPTIMISTIC, ’S POSSIBLE TO SEE MT ROMNEY’S MENCEMENT SPEECH AT LIBERTY UNIVERSY ON SATURDAY AS A SIGN OF MAJOR SOCIAL PROGRS. ROMNEY APPEARED AT AMERI’S LARGT EVANGELIL UNIVERSY—A SCHOOL FOUND BY JERRY FALWELL, WHICH TEACH THAT MORMONISM IS A CULT—TO SHORE UP HIS RELATNSHIP WH THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT. JT DAYS EARLIER, OF URSE, PRINT OBAMA OUTRAGED THE MOVEMENT BY ANNOUNCG HIS SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALY, AND SOCIAL NSERVATIV HOPED ROMNEY WOULD PALIZE ON THE ISSUE. “THIS IS A VERY POTENT WEAPON, IF YOU WILL, FOR GOVERNOR ROMNEY IF HE’S WILLG TO STEP UP AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A PRINT WHO IS VERY MUCH OUT OF TOUCH WH THE VALU OF AMERI,” RICK SANTOM TOLD AN ARKANSAS TV TERVIEWER ON FRIDAY. NEVERTHELS, ROMNEY’S SPEECH SHOWED A REMARKABLE RELUCTANCE TO ENGAGE ANTI-GAY MAGOGUERY. INED, HIS ANODYNE REMARKS TOUCHED ONLY BRIEFLY ON THE BATE OVER GAY RIGHTS. SPEAKG ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE FAY AMERIN LIFE, HE SAID, “AS FUNDAMENTAL AS THE PRCIPL ARE, THEY MAY BEE TOPICS OF MOCRATIC BATE. SO IS TODAY WH THE ENDURG STUTN OF MARRIAGE. MARRIAGE IS A RELATNSHIP BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN.” AND THAT WAS . HE VOTED TWICE AS MANY WORDS TO HIS PRAISE OF CHICK-FIL-A.ROMNEY’S MA NOD TO CULTURE-WAR RHETORIC WAS HIS THEOLOGIL EXPLANATN FOR AMERIN PREEMENCE: “YOU ENTER A WORLD WH CIVILIZATNS AND ENOMI THAT ARE FAR OM EQUAL,” HE SAID, ARGUG THAT CENTRAL TO “AMERI’S RISE TO GLOBAL LEARSHIP IS OUR JUO-CHRISTIAN TRADN, WH S VISN OF THE GOODNS AND POSSIBILI OF EVERY LIFE.” THIS PLAYS TO THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT’S BELIEF THAT THE UNED STAT WAS FOUND TO BE A CHRISTIAN NATN, BUT THERE’S NOTHG TO EAK OUT MORAT, WHO WILL LIKELY HEAR AS A PREDICTABLE AFFIRMATN OF AMERIN EXCEPTNALISM. ROMNEY’S RETICENCE ON GAY MARRIAGE DON’T LIKELY STEM OM ANY PERSONAL RELUCTANCE TO DISCS SOCIAL ISSU, SCE HE’S BEEN VOLUBLE ON SUCH ISSU THE PAST. IN A VIO OM 2004 DUG UP BY AMERIN BRIDGE, A LIBERAL SUPERPAC, HE EVEN SEEMED TO SUGGT THAT A KID WH ONE AD STRAIGHT PARENT WOULD BE BETTER OFF THAN THE CHILD OF A LIVG GAY UPLE.“IF A MOTHER OR A FATHER IS CEASED, THE CHILD N LEARN ABOUT THE QUALI OF THEIR PARTED PARENT,” HE SAID DURG A NGRSNAL HEARG. “HIS OR HER PSYCHOLOGIL VELOPMENT N STILL BE FLUENCED BY THE NTRASTG FEATUR OF BOTH GENRS.”WE DON’T KNOW IF ROMNEY HAS EVOLVED SCE THEN, BUT PUBLIC ATTUS CERTALY HAVE. IN 2004, OPPOSN TO GAY MARRIAGE WAS CCIAL TO GEE W. BH’S REELECTN STRATEGY. THAT YEAR, ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE BALLOT IATIV GALVANIZED CHRISTIAN NSERVATIVE TURNOUT SWG STAT LIKE OH, AND OVERALL, MORE THAN A FIFTH OF VOTERS CED “MORAL VALU” AS THEIR CHIEF NCERN. A MERE EIGHT YEARS LATER, THOUGH, THE GOP FDS SELF MUCH MORE WARY OF HOMOPHOBIA, AND TH UNABLE TO EFFECTIVELY E OBAMA’S NEWFOUND SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE AGAST HIM. THE SAME PARTY THAT HAS SPENT MUCH OF THE YEAR ACCG THE PRINT OF WAGG A “WAR ON RELIGN”— A PHRASE ROMNEY ED JT LAST MONTH—HAS REALIZED THAT GOG AFTER GAY PEOPLE IS NO LONGER POLILLY EFUL.THIS WAS MA CLEAR A RECENT, MUCH TALKED-ABOUT MEMO OM JAN VAN LOHUIZEN, THE POLLSTER FOR BH’S 2004 MPAIGN. “SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HAS BEEN GROWG AND THE LAST FEW YEARS SUPPORT HAS GROWN AT AN ACCELERATED RATE WH NO SIGN OF SLOWG DOWN,” SAID. IT REMEND THAT EVEN REPUBLINS WHO OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE EMPHASIZE SUPPORT FOR OTHER SORTS OF FAIAL RIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX UPL. VAN LOHUIZEN SUGGTED THE FOLLOWG LANGUAGE: “PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE ON THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF MARRIAGE N AGREE, AT THE SAME TIME, THAT GAYS AND LBIANS SHOULD RECEIVE SENTIAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTNS SUCH AS HOSPAL VISATN, ADOPTN RIGHTS, AND HEALTH AND ATH BENEFS.”ROMNEY N’T TAKE THAT ADVICE, THOUGH, BEE HE STILL NEEDS TO PLATE THE RIGHT. HENCE HIS RECENT FLIP-FLOP ON GAY ADOPTN. ON THURSDAY, HE TOLD FOX NEWS THAT HE WAS “FE” WH GAY UPL ADOPTG CHILDREN, SAYG, “[I]F TWO PEOPLE OF THE SAME GENR WANT TO LIVE TOGETHER, WANT TO HAVE A LOVG RELATNSHIP, OR EVEN TO ADOPT A CHILD…[I]N MY VIEW, THAT’S SOMETHG THAT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO DO.” THE NEXT DAY, THOUGH, HE CLAIMED THAT HE WAS MERELY REFERRG TO WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS, SAYG, “I SIMPLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT GAY ADOPTN IS LEGAL ALL STAT BUT ONE.”OF URSE, ROMNEY’S BEEN TRIPPG UP A LOT ON GAY RIGHTS LATELY. THIS MONTH, WE’VE ALSO SEEN THE EMBARRASSG PARTURE OF HIS GAY SPOKMAN, RICHARD GRENELL, WHOSE HIRG FURIATED SOME NSERVATIV, AS WELL AS ROMNEY’S AWKWARD NON-APOLOGY FOR ALLEGEDLY BULLYG A GAY KID HIGH SCHOOL. IT’S CLEAR THAT HE HASN’T FIGURED OUT HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CHANGG TERRA OF PUBLIC OPN, TERRA THAT’S BEG AT LEAST AS TRICKY FOR OPPONENTS OF GAY RIGHTS AS FOR SUPPORTERS. NO WONR HE DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SUBJECT, NO MATTER HOW MUCH HIS DIENCE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT . MICHELLE GOLDBERG
• MT ROMNEY OPPOS CIVIL UNNS FOR GAY AND LBIAN COUPL
• NOT THE ONN: MOSW BANS GAY PRI FOR NEXT 100 YEARS

ROMNEY'S VIEWS ON GAY MARRIAGE: ALSO EVOLVG?

A day after Print Obama announced his support for gay marriage, Republin printial ndidate Mt Romney avoid the issue at a mpaign appearance Thursday Nebraska.

Obama has said his posn on gay marriage "evolved" over time, and a se n be ma that Romney's views on gay rights have changed as well. Romney has long been acced of hedgg on issu like gay rights, but Wednday he sisted his posn on same-sex marriage is clear: "My view is that marriage self is a relatnship between a man and a woman. Senate 1994, he promised to be a champn for "full equaly" for gays and lbians — which many unrstood to clu even gay marriage.

"His mpaign distributed at the gay pri para pk flyers that asserted that he would be a better and a stronger advote than Ted Kennedy, " rells lobbyist Arlene Isaacson. She says jt a few years later, everythg changed — after Romney was elected ernor 2002, and a Massachetts supreme urt cisn 2003 paved the way for gay marriage the next year.

MT ROMNEY ON GAY MARRIAGE

"It was across-the-board prohibn of any small be of equaly for the gay muny. Romney did everythg he uld to keep Massachetts om beg the "Las Vegas of gay marriage, " backg a nstutnal ban at the state and feral levels.

MT ROMNEY'S GAY SPOKMAN: A MILTONE REPUBLIN POLICS

But even there, gay rights advot take issue. In 1994, for example, Romney favored the ia of gays servg openly the ary.

Also, after first backg legislatn to protect gays and lbians om job discrimatn, Romney now oppos .

Clarke Cooper, head of the gay anizatn the Log Cab Republins, agre: "He's parsed his words a way that almost seems to some like he wants both ways. Romney rtated Thursday that he thks 's fe for gay upl to adopt children. On Wednday, Romney lled gay marriage a "tenr" issue and chose his words refully about civil unns.

MT ROMNEY ON GAY RIGHTS OVER THE YEARS

Brown says the approval this week of a nstutnal ban on gay marriage North Carola prov the pot.

MT ROMNEY DODG GAY MARRIAGE LIBERTY UNIVERSY SPEECHHOT TOPICMICHELLE GOLDBERG ON WHY ROMNEY SKIRTED THE THORNY ISSUE.MICHELLE GOLDBERGUPDATED APR. 24, 2017 11:56AM EDT / PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2012 3:20PM EDT JIM WATSON, AFP / GETTY IMAGIF YOU’RE FEELG OPTIMISTIC, ’S POSSIBLE TO SEE MT ROMNEY’S MENCEMENT SPEECH AT LIBERTY UNIVERSY ON SATURDAY AS A SIGN OF MAJOR SOCIAL PROGRS. ROMNEY APPEARED AT AMERI’S LARGT EVANGELIL UNIVERSY—A SCHOOL FOUND BY JERRY FALWELL, WHICH TEACH THAT MORMONISM IS A CULT—TO SHORE UP HIS RELATNSHIP WH THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT. JT DAYS EARLIER, OF URSE, PRINT OBAMA OUTRAGED THE MOVEMENT BY ANNOUNCG HIS SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALY, AND SOCIAL NSERVATIV HOPED ROMNEY WOULD PALIZE ON THE ISSUE. “THIS IS A VERY POTENT WEAPON, IF YOU WILL, FOR GOVERNOR ROMNEY IF HE’S WILLG TO STEP UP AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A PRINT WHO IS VERY MUCH OUT OF TOUCH WH THE VALU OF AMERI,” RICK SANTOM TOLD AN ARKANSAS TV TERVIEWER ON FRIDAY. NEVERTHELS, ROMNEY’S SPEECH SHOWED A REMARKABLE RELUCTANCE TO ENGAGE ANTI-GAY MAGOGUERY. INED, HIS ANODYNE REMARKS TOUCHED ONLY BRIEFLY ON THE BATE OVER GAY RIGHTS. SPEAKG ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE FAY AMERIN LIFE, HE SAID, “AS FUNDAMENTAL AS THE PRCIPL ARE, THEY MAY BEE TOPICS OF MOCRATIC BATE. SO IS TODAY WH THE ENDURG STUTN OF MARRIAGE. MARRIAGE IS A RELATNSHIP BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN.” AND THAT WAS . HE VOTED TWICE AS MANY WORDS TO HIS PRAISE OF CHICK-FIL-A.ROMNEY’S MA NOD TO CULTURE-WAR RHETORIC WAS HIS THEOLOGIL EXPLANATN FOR AMERIN PREEMENCE: “YOU ENTER A WORLD WH CIVILIZATNS AND ENOMI THAT ARE FAR OM EQUAL,” HE SAID, ARGUG THAT CENTRAL TO “AMERI’S RISE TO GLOBAL LEARSHIP IS OUR JUO-CHRISTIAN TRADN, WH S VISN OF THE GOODNS AND POSSIBILI OF EVERY LIFE.” THIS PLAYS TO THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT’S BELIEF THAT THE UNED STAT WAS FOUND TO BE A CHRISTIAN NATN, BUT THERE’S NOTHG TO EAK OUT MORAT, WHO WILL LIKELY HEAR AS A PREDICTABLE AFFIRMATN OF AMERIN EXCEPTNALISM. ROMNEY’S RETICENCE ON GAY MARRIAGE DON’T LIKELY STEM OM ANY PERSONAL RELUCTANCE TO DISCS SOCIAL ISSU, SCE HE’S BEEN VOLUBLE ON SUCH ISSU THE PAST. IN A VIO OM 2004 DUG UP BY AMERIN BRIDGE, A LIBERAL SUPERPAC, HE EVEN SEEMED TO SUGGT THAT A KID WH ONE AD STRAIGHT PARENT WOULD BE BETTER OFF THAN THE CHILD OF A LIVG GAY UPLE.“IF A MOTHER OR A FATHER IS CEASED, THE CHILD N LEARN ABOUT THE QUALI OF THEIR PARTED PARENT,” HE SAID DURG A NGRSNAL HEARG. “HIS OR HER PSYCHOLOGIL VELOPMENT N STILL BE FLUENCED BY THE NTRASTG FEATUR OF BOTH GENRS.”WE DON’T KNOW IF ROMNEY HAS EVOLVED SCE THEN, BUT PUBLIC ATTUS CERTALY HAVE. IN 2004, OPPOSN TO GAY MARRIAGE WAS CCIAL TO GEE W. BH’S REELECTN STRATEGY. THAT YEAR, ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE BALLOT IATIV GALVANIZED CHRISTIAN NSERVATIVE TURNOUT SWG STAT LIKE OH, AND OVERALL, MORE THAN A FIFTH OF VOTERS CED “MORAL VALU” AS THEIR CHIEF NCERN. A MERE EIGHT YEARS LATER, THOUGH, THE GOP FDS SELF MUCH MORE WARY OF HOMOPHOBIA, AND TH UNABLE TO EFFECTIVELY E OBAMA’S NEWFOUND SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE AGAST HIM. THE SAME PARTY THAT HAS SPENT MUCH OF THE YEAR ACCG THE PRINT OF WAGG A “WAR ON RELIGN”— A PHRASE ROMNEY ED JT LAST MONTH—HAS REALIZED THAT GOG AFTER GAY PEOPLE IS NO LONGER POLILLY EFUL.THIS WAS MA CLEAR A RECENT, MUCH TALKED-ABOUT MEMO OM JAN VAN LOHUIZEN, THE POLLSTER FOR BH’S 2004 MPAIGN. “SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HAS BEEN GROWG AND THE LAST FEW YEARS SUPPORT HAS GROWN AT AN ACCELERATED RATE WH NO SIGN OF SLOWG DOWN,” SAID. IT REMEND THAT EVEN REPUBLINS WHO OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE EMPHASIZE SUPPORT FOR OTHER SORTS OF FAIAL RIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX UPL. VAN LOHUIZEN SUGGTED THE FOLLOWG LANGUAGE: “PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE ON THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF MARRIAGE N AGREE, AT THE SAME TIME, THAT GAYS AND LBIANS SHOULD RECEIVE SENTIAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTNS SUCH AS HOSPAL VISATN, ADOPTN RIGHTS, AND HEALTH AND ATH BENEFS.”ROMNEY N’T TAKE THAT ADVICE, THOUGH, BEE HE STILL NEEDS TO PLATE THE RIGHT. HENCE HIS RECENT FLIP-FLOP ON GAY ADOPTN. ON THURSDAY, HE TOLD FOX NEWS THAT HE WAS “FE” WH GAY UPL ADOPTG CHILDREN, SAYG, “[I]F TWO PEOPLE OF THE SAME GENR WANT TO LIVE TOGETHER, WANT TO HAVE A LOVG RELATNSHIP, OR EVEN TO ADOPT A CHILD…[I]N MY VIEW, THAT’S SOMETHG THAT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO DO.” THE NEXT DAY, THOUGH, HE CLAIMED THAT HE WAS MERELY REFERRG TO WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS, SAYG, “I SIMPLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT GAY ADOPTN IS LEGAL ALL STAT BUT ONE.”OF URSE, ROMNEY’S BEEN TRIPPG UP A LOT ON GAY RIGHTS LATELY. THIS MONTH, WE’VE ALSO SEEN THE EMBARRASSG PARTURE OF HIS GAY SPOKMAN, RICHARD GRENELL, WHOSE HIRG FURIATED SOME NSERVATIV, AS WELL AS ROMNEY’S AWKWARD NON-APOLOGY FOR ALLEGEDLY BULLYG A GAY KID HIGH SCHOOL. IT’S CLEAR THAT HE HASN’T FIGURED OUT HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CHANGG TERRA OF PUBLIC OPN, TERRA THAT’S BEG AT LEAST AS TRICKY FOR OPPONENTS OF GAY RIGHTS AS FOR SUPPORTERS. NO WONR HE DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SUBJECT, NO MATTER HOW MUCH HIS DIENCE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT . MICHELLE GOLDBERG

Natnal polls ntue to show growg support for gay marriage — now somewhere around 50 percent. Wh Print Barack Obama's change of posn on gay marriage -- which earned a Full Flop on our Flip-O-Meter -- we thought was a good time to take a h look at Mt Romney's posn on the same issue.

As we wrote 2007, Romney took a relatively liberal approach on gay rights durg his 1994 Senate race agast liberal Democratic in Edward M. Durg his Senate race, Romney wrote a letter to the Massachetts branch of the Log Cab Republins, which read part, "I am more nvced than ever before that as we seek to tablish full equaly for Ameri's gay and lbian cizens, I will provi more effective learship than my opponent. " He promised the group that he would support laws preventg discrimatn agast gays and lbians the workplace and implied his hope for the eventual full tegratn of gays the ary, a policy that was ultimately approved 16 years later.

MT ROMNEY OPPOS CIVIL UNNS FOR GAY AND LBIAN COUPL

A lengthy terview wh Romney Bay Wdows, a Boston-area gay newspaper, was headled, "Romney: I'll be better than Ted for gay rights.

NOT THE ONN: MOSW BANS GAY PRI FOR NEXT 100 YEARS

But spe makg policy overtur to gay voters, Romney nsistently drew the le at gay marriage, even as far back as 1994. When Romney was asked by Bay Wdows, "Would you support legalized marriage for gay men and lbians?

My unrstandg is that he has looked at the issue and nclud that certa benefs and privileg should be offered to gay upl and lbian upl. While Romney 1994 offered relatively liberal views on some polici of importance to gay voters, he never went so far as to support same-sex marriage. PoliFact, "Print Barack Obama's shiftg stance on gay marriage, " May 11, 2012.

Fox News, "Mt Romney Rponds to Print Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage, " May 9, 2012. Associated Prs, "Romney stays firm on opposn to gay marriage, " May 9, 2012.