Romney Supports Tolerance for Gays, But Not Public Servants Who Speak Against Homosexuality

LifeSiteNews.com ^ | May 25, 2007 | Peter J. Smith

[David_G_Burnet]

I really doubt I'll be voting for anybody other than a third party candidate this year.

Besides being an idiot for throwing away your vote in a meaningless "protest vote", my guess is you'd be happier on some other board.

[TexanSniper]

That’s not what I stated at all. You claim you want to see government officials preaching about morality and their personal views.

That may be fine if you happen to agree with them but how would you react to Bill Clinton giving morality lessons? or Hillary?

If you ponder these questions long enough you’ll realize that romney is right.

[Gelato]

Romney: "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."

Let me get this straight. Romney believes that candidates for office should not discuss what they consider "immoral or not immoral." And then, in the same interview, Romney gives his personal moral view on homosexuality, and says he would not even personally condemn it as sinful.

... he personally would not preach that homosexuality is sinful...

The man is a walking contradiction.

[ProCivitas]

Sorry Tommydale, I don't know where Romney's getting this from. It's one thing to appreciate folks on a case-by-case basis and on there own merits, even the sexually unusual; One can even uphold any competant adult's right to enter into a contract with another...that doesn't entitle them to any public designation, recognition, or anyone's approval.

It's another to surrender the individual right of approving/diapproving and seek to prohibit approval/disapproval by others. Here in Massachusetts, though, Homosexuals are a fairly powerful faction (well-organized and financed), although Romney never needed them as part of his coalition. Strange.

[Gelato]

He's apparently 'anti-anti-gay'...

You got it.

[Unmarked Package]

"When Romney was running the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, under pressure from homosexual groups, he removed the Boy Scouts from participation in pre-Olympic activities."

That allegation is entirely false. You have been misinformed or your purpose here is to deceive others; I hope it's the former.

Leading conservative attorney Jay Sekulow has thoroughly and completely debunked this claim:

Brian Camenker’s [of MassResistance] claim…that “Romney Barred Boy Scouts from public participation in the 2002 Olympics” is entirely false. There are several articles that directly contradict Camenker’s conclusion. NewsMax.com, Camenker’s source, did not even claim that Romney made the decision to bar the Scouts. In fact, Romney, at least at that time, sat on the Boy Scout’s executive board. The Boy Scouts said that the NewsMax article was false. Even NewsMax admitted that the Olympic Committee said that there was an age restriction of 18 years old and up to be a volunteer. There are also inconsistencies in the two NewsMax articles, only one of which is cited by Camenker.…Since no major media source ran anything about this story, and the local media directly contradicted it, it appears that Camenker’s claim is false.
^{(Sekulow Addresses False Boy Scout Allegation, December 11, 2006)}

[the anti-liberal]

"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."

One less candidate for Fred Thompson to worry about.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

This guy is just a bryl-cream commercial.

LOLOLOL.

I think Romney would be better served heading up a commission reforming Social Security or making the government more efficient or something. He just isn't presidential material, though I'd vote for him if he was the nominee.

[monkapotamus]

[ears_to_hear]

Well in the Mormon economy gays can not be “gods” cause you need wives ( so by definition you need to be straight to become a god of your own planet.)

I wish that Romney would be “straight “ with voters though.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

I know throwing away votes is not pretty, but the Republicans would do themselves a service if they did not tick off their base. I could hold my nose and vote for them again but it is getting more difficult to drag myself to the polls with the betrayal of my core values on immigration. If that bill passes, these 10 guys(the candidates) are just moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.

[red irish]

Well that just goes to show the real person and not what he goes around saying to be president.Supports homosexuals and not the boy scouts,what a guy.

[grey_whiskers]

Cheers!

[JohnnyZ]

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.

Gag me.

Does anyone really need more evidence about what a limp-wristed liberal phony this guy is?!??!

[Wallace T.]

The LDS Church clearly condemns homosexuality, as much as do the evangelical churches and the Catholic Church. I think that Romney has not quite got the conservative rhetoric down pat, and needs more practice. Perhaps four years as Fred Thompson’s VP will make him fluent and maybe even trustworthy.

[redgirlinabluestate]

Thanks for the ping BOF. Boy, this thread has so many distortions, but I don't have time to address them all right now -- so I'm linking you to a prior response on this issue below.

I will say, though, with the attitude expressed by some on this thread, you'd be throwing Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter all under the bus with Mitt. None of them support(ed) discrimination either.

There is a big difference between tolerance for gays and promotion of the gay lifestyle.

COULTER: And of course, if you're working for a Republican candidate, you'll meet some nice heterosexual guys. By the way, before I let that slide, I do want to point out one thing that has been driving me crazy with the media, how they keep describing Mitt Romney's position as being "pro-gays, and that's going to upset right-wingers." Well, you know, screw you, I'm not anti-gay. We're against gay marriage. I don't want gays to be discriminated against. I mean, I think we have, in addition to blacks, I don't know why all gays aren't Republicans. I think we have the pro-gay position, which is anti-crime and for tax cuts. Gays make a lot of money, and they're victims of crime. I mean, the way -- no, they are. They should be with us. But the media portrays us. If they could get away with it, they would start saying, you know, "Mitt Romney, he's pro-civil rights, and that's going to upset conservatives." No. OK. Sorry, go ahead."

Previous examples of how Reagan and Newt also oppose discrimination against gays here

__________________________________

Opposing discrimination is not the same thing as promoting a "gay agenda."

I am sure the gays did not think Mitt was supporting their agenda when he pushed for a Federal Marriage Amendment which would preclude them from changing the definition of marriage to benefit their "agenda."

In fact, Mitt took positive steps to thwart their agenda.

Romney testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the Federal Marriage Amendment, and sent a letter to all 100 U.S. Senators asking them to vote for the Amendment.

While Romney stood up for traditional marriage, Sen. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani opposed the FMA.
Romney Opposes Special Rights for Gays but does not Support Discrimination

[Unmarked Package]

The allegation regarding the Boy Scouts is entirely false. Please read Post #46 in the current thread.

[JSDude1]

I hope that every REPUBLICAN “Christian” finds out about Romney’s continued support for the radical homosexual Agenda!

I hope they wake up, and realize he isn’t the “conservative” alternative! He is another ‘wolf-in-sheeps-clothing’..Christians beware.

Romney is another MA do anything, say anything politician to get elected!

See: Romney’s real problem in this case, is that he can’t make a distinction between the respect for people that many true Christian polticians do have, and their disrespect or out-right (opposition) to IMMORAL behavior!

[TexanSniper]

"And then, in the same interview, Romney gives his personal moral view on homosexuality"

No he didn't. The keyword there is preach.

[TexanSniper]

You know many politicians who say publicly that homosexuality is immoral? care to name a few?

This thread is much ado about nothing.