Posted on 05/26/2007 10:46:29 AM PDT by Sleeping Beauty
Romney among those who condemned Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff for saying homosexuality immoral
JACKSONVILLE, Florida, May 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Officials running for public office should not discuss personal beliefs about morality says Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who also stated that his opposition to same-sex “marriage” should not be construed as intolerance of homosexuals, many of whom he appointed to his administration as Massachusetts governor.
"I oppose discrimination against gay people," Romney told the Associated Press. "I am not anti-gay. I know there are some Republicans, or some people in the country who are looking for someone who is anti-gay and that's not me."
Romney made his comments after he told supporters at a campaign stop that government had no authority to tell pastors what to preach about homosexuality, although he personally would not preach that homosexuality is sinful. Romney said a leader must “respect people who made different choices and have different beliefs in their lives and have differences,” and he feels the same way about homosexuals.
The AP interview did not mention whether Romney specified any “anti-gay” Republicans he knew, but Romney’s appointments of known homosexual activists to political positions of power does concern pro-family advocates. Among these were National Log Cabin Republicans Patrick Guerriero and former Massachusetts Log Cabin president Mark Goshko.
Romney’s Secretary of the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, Daniel Grabauskas, had previously served as head of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, where he added a sex-change check-off box to drivers license renewal forms.
Homosexual activist Kevin Cranston also directed Romney’s HIV/AIDS Bureau in the Department of Public Health. Cranston was a co-founder of Boston Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Youth (BAGLY) and fought the CDC's recommendation to track HIV-infected patients by name rather than anonymous ID numbers.
Romney also appointed Stephen Abany, a homosexual member of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association (MLGBA), as a district judge. Abany had stated his opposition to any “anti-gay legislation” including attempts to overturn Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, which led to the legalization of same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts.
Romney also told the AP that he thought it inappropriate for people in public office to express their convictions on homosexuality.
"I don't think that a person who's running for a secular position as I am should talk about or engage in discussions of what they in their personal faith or their personal beliefs is immoral or not immoral," Romney told the AP.
Romney was among a chorus of political voices who condemned Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for expressing his belief back in March that homosexual behavior, like adultery, was immoral and the military had no interest in supporting either.
"I think people are entitled to believe what they want to believe, but what they say in their official and secular roles should be an expression of tolerance and respect for people regardless of our differences,” Romney then said.
Romney has been under intense scrutiny for his previous support of the homosexual agenda, which his administration continued to aggressively fund and support even as Romney was courting social conservatives for his presidential run.
Do you think this type of "open society" tolerance in Romney can hurt his chances for the Republican nomination?
I hope it does.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't General Pace say that the practice of homosexuality is immoral, not that homosexuality itself was immoral?
This is where we depart company.
After all why would we ever want to elect a person president who openly advocated core values....um, like Ronald Reagan.
...although he personally would not preach that homosexuality is sinful
At least for once he is being honest about what he believes, as evidenced by his being in bed (no pun intended) with every pro-homosexual group possible while he was Governor of Massachusetts and putting the children of the state in serious jeopardy by allowing the sick gay agenda into the public schools.
I don't see how you can separate the two.
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Nice.
Yes. I cannot support Romney's condemnation of Pace. That's deplorable. Romney is very slick in the way he words things, but I still hear a liberal when he speaks. Why we would want to pick the homosexual marriage governor as our leader is beyond me. His parsing on homosexual issues is even worse than his parsing on abortion. I do not trust him. He was worse than having no respresentation because he was offered either phony or inept representation. Which it was doesn't matter. He failed.
I think most people know at least one person who is gay. We don’t go out and act against them. We simply don’t agree with their life choice. We also differ on wheiter we should acknowledge if they should marry or not.
Gays, lesbians are a choice. This should NOT be a political platform.
Yes exactly. (to your post #6)
You don't see the difference between having a desire vs acting on it?
Romney is drinking the Rooty Ghouliani kool-aid.
Romney sounds like every NE liberal, morals have to be removed from the public sector.
He can stay in MA with his pickle puffers.
I'm going to vote for whoever can beat the DemonRAT candidate.
I was hoping it was Romney.
I'd like to see just one viable Republican candidate put homosexuals back into the sexual deviant category where they belong.
Well, don’t shoot me, but I like Romney. Of the top tier candidates, he has lived a life demonstrating the strongest family values.
Politicians who come from big cities see the world in a different way. They constantly interact with people from all walks of life — and these people are all part of what makes that city work.
It sounds like this one issue makes Romney insupportable. Is that really true? That feels sad.
I don't think they are. The act is immoral, not simply the desire.
Jimmy Carter lived a life demonstrating strong family values. Nuff said. He was a worse president than even Der Schlictmeister.
have to disagree there. People can’t really change their orientation, especially if they were born that way, we don’t know enough yet to tell for sure. However practicing homosexuality is far different.
And Romney just fell astronomically in my opinion.
No morality in laws does not mean open society since you will then have laws made of one group vs another every cycle eventually have a laws against everyone. that is silly. You also need some laws so, where do you base those from?
What is the basis of all laws?
While I agree politican’s should shut up about most things and let the markets and society work things out, you have to stand for some things.
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