Senator
Rick Santorum on the Hot Seat from a Statement Made to the Associated Press
National
Public Radio, April 22, 2003
Morning Edition
Anchors: Bob Edwards
Reporters: David Welna
BOB EDWARDS, host: Gay rights groups are urging
Republican leaders in the Senate to consider removing Senator Rick Santorum of
Pennsylvania from the Senate Republican leadership. In an interview with the
Associated Press published yesterday, Senator Santorum compared homosexuality
to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery. NPR congressional correspondent
David Welna joins me now.
What exactly did Senator Santorum say?
DAVID WELNA reporting: Well, Bob, Santorum was
being interviewed by the Associated Press in relation to a Supreme Court case
in which two Texas men are challenging Texas law against sodomy, and they were
arrested. They were found in one of the men’s home by police, and they
contend that they were engaged in consensual gay sex. Well, Santorum told
Associated Press if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to
consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have
the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to
adultery, you have the right to anything. And that was the remark that
immediately prompted calls for his fellow Republicans—Santorum’s fellow
Republicans—to at least repudiate his remarks, if not remove him from his
post as the number three Republican in the Senate as a leader of the Senate
Republican Conference.
EDWARDS: And
has there been any response to that?
WELNA: There
has not. Of course, the Senate is not in session this week. They will return
next Monday. But a spokeswoman for Santorum stressed that Santorum has no
problem with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individuals. But in terms
of whether he would step down or not, nothing has been said.
EDWARDS: Some
comparisons are being made to the remarks by Senator Trent Lott about Strom
Thurmond’s segregationist campaign for the presidency, remarks which led to
Senator Lott’s resignation as majority leader.
WELNA: Right.
I don’t know if this is necessarily going to lead to the resignation of
another Republican Senate leader. Making remarks seen as racially insensitive
in this country could be much more explosive than making remarks about gays
that are seen as offensive.
EDWARDS: Does
Senator Santorum have plans to make anymore speeches, appear before any
groups, anything like that?
WELNA: I’m
not sure. Santorum, of course, has a reputation in the Senate as being
somebody who’s not overly cautious about the remarks that he makes, and he
is known for some very brash statements. But I think that because he was
talking about a pending case before the Supreme Court, it’s a bit different
from Lott who was at a birthday party for Strom Thurmond and was speaking off
the cuff praising Thurmond essentially. Santorum has been very active in
taking, I guess, what would be seen as moral stands in the Senate. He was the
leader of an effort to allow religious groups to have government contracts. He
backed down from that and—but I don’t know if we’re going to hear more
on this from Santorum, but there will be more questions I’m sure.
EDWARDS: NPR
congressional correspondent David Welna.
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