GOP
Officials Support Santorum
Senator simply explains that his views on gay sex
mirror law of land
The
Patriot-News, April 24, 2003
Box 2265, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Fax: 717-255-8456
By Peter L. DeCoursey of The Patriot-News
National and statewide Republican officials willing to
comment are supporting U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., as he defends comments
equating gay relationships with bestiality and with priests molesting teens.
His remarks stirred a public furor. Some Democrats, liberals and gay rights
groups have called for Santorum’s ouster as third-ranking Republican in the
U.S. Senate leadership. Critics also said his remarks were inappropriate,
coming from the state’s most powerful Republican.
But Santorum’s defenders are under a gag order.
Officials at the White House and Republican National Committee told GOP
insiders yesterday, by conference call, voice mail and e-mail not to comment
about Santorum’s comments, letting him speak for himself. Speaking at a town
hall meeting in Williamsport yesterday, Santorum said he was simply repeating
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White’s 1986 decision that found consenting
adults have no constitutional right to private homosexual sex.
“To suggest that my comments, which are the law of the
land and were the reason the Supreme Court decided the case in 1986, are
somehow intolerant, I would just argue that it is not,” Santorum said.
Santorum told The Associated Press last week that he feared if the Supreme
Court struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law, legalizing homosexual sex, that
would mean “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 do anything.
Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does.
“Whether it’s polygamy, whether it’s adultery, where it’s sodomy, all
of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable traditional family,”
he said. Santorum said, “society is based on one thing,” and defined that
one thing as “children. Monogamous relationships. In every society, the
definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality.”
Santorum also stated that cases of priests molesting
teens were spurred by tolerance of homosexuality among adults, saying, “in
areas where you have that [homosexuality] as an accepted lifestyle, don’t be
surprised that you get more of it.” He said cases of priests molesting teens
were “a basic homosexual relationship” and later added, “I have no
problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would
with ... [other] acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships.”
Santorum’s colleague and ally, Sen. Arlen Specter,
R-Pa., who receives strong support from gay voters, said Tuesday that Santorum
was not bigoted against gays.
Specter did not respond to a request for comment
yesterday. Also not responding to requests for comment were: U.S. Reps. Todd
Platts, R-York; Tim Holden, D-Schuylkill County; and Joe Pitts, R-Chester
County. Also not returning calls were state Senate President Pro Tem Robert C.
Jubelirer, R-Blair; state House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia; and about
a dozen top GOP officials. Republicans who did respond tried to portray the
controversy as a Democratic Party conspiracy and endeavored to change the
subject.
Pennsylvania Republican State Committee spokesman Chad
Saylor said, “If we’re surprised about anything, it’s the [Democrats’]
attempts to hype this. Pennsylvanians are concerned about the war and the
economy, not about this nonsense.”
Democrats and groups that support gays and lesbians
called upon Santorum to resign or be ousted from his third-ranking post among
the U.S. Senate GOP leadership.
But a more measured response from Gov. Ed Rendell was
proof of Santorum’s power and influence in the soon-to-be-negotiated federal
budget, and of many Democrats’ expectations that Santorum will be unharmed
politically by the furor. Rendell called Santorum’s comments “highly
inappropriate” and said, “I thought they were offensive to every gay man
and gay woman in this state. However, you have to understand that Sen.
Santorum is an extremely religious person, with strong religious beliefs.”
Rendell then agreed with his former boss, Specter, that Santorum was not
“personally bigoted” and would help constituents regardless of their
sexual orientation.
In Harrisburg, Jennifer Storm, managing director of the
Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition said Santorum’s “continued use of
anti-gay rhetoric within his political strategy will only prove to hurt the
Republican Party and his support in Pennsylvania.”
Rita Addessa of the Pennsylvania Lesbian and Gay Task
Force, said, “Bigotry has many forms. Republican Senate leader Santorum’s
commentary reflects a straight-forward and unambiguous hatred of and ignorance
about lesbian and gay people.” Conservative groups responded that
Santorum’s comments were a defense of marriage, traditional families and
monogamy and reflected the views of most Pennsylvanians.
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