Santorum
Refuses to Apologize to Gay Constituent
365Gay.com,
April 23, 2003
By Paul Johnson, Washington Bureau Chief
Williamsport, Pennsylvania—Senator
Rich Santorum, confronted by a gay man at a town hall meeting Wednesday
refused to apologize for comparing homosexuality to bestiality, incest, and
adultery.
“You attacked me for who I am,” said the 23 year old
man during a question and answer session. “I am a proud, gay Pennsylvanian.
“How could you compare my sexuality and what I do in
the privacy of my home to bigamy or incest.”
But, Santorum dismissed the man saying he isn’t a bigot
and that he was articulating a view by Justice Byron White in a 1986 Supreme
Court ruling that gays had no right to privacy and that Georgia’s sodomy law
was legal.
Santorum told the meeting that if states were not allowed
to regulate gay sex activity in private homes, “you leave open the door for
a variety of other sexual activities to occur within the home and not be
regulated.”
Meanwhile, for the second day in a row the White House
has refused to condemn Santorum’s remarks. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
skirted the issue Wednesday saying only that the president typically doesn’t
comment on matters pending before the Supreme Court or people’s
interpretation of cases.
And, for the second day in a row, Democratic presidential
hopeful Howard Dean accused the White House of condoning hate.
“As additional reports have come to light, revealing a
disturbing history of inflammatory, anti-gay rhetoric by Senator Santorum, the
deafening silence of President Bush and his party has become inexcusable,”
Dead said Wednesday afternoon.
“Gay-bashing is not a legitimate public policy
discussion; it is immoral. Rick Santorum’s failure to recognize that
attacking people because of who they are is morally wrong makes him unfit for
a leadership position in the United States Senate,” said the former Vermont
governor responsible for enacting the nation’s first civil unions law.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Wednesday said it
was not too late for Santorum to issue an apology.
“This is the gutter language of the extreme right wing
in this country. And Senator Santorum is wrong to portray gay families as
‘antithetical’ to the institution of the family. Research shows that half
to three quarters of lesbians and gay men are in committed, caring, long-term
relationships,” said NGLTF Executive Director Lorri L. Jean.
An apology is not likely. Santorum continues to maintain
he did nothing wrong, and GOP leadership fearing to alienate the party’s
right wing is refusing to exert pressure on him. And, in case anyone in the
party was considering censuring him, one of the strongest Republican
supporters issued a strong warning.
“I think the Republican party would do well to follow
Senator Santorum if they want to see pro-family voters show up on Election
Day,” said Genevieve Wood, vice president for communications at the
conservative Family Research Council.
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