CONNECT
Top Romney Adviser: We’ll Campaign on Constitutional Marriage Ban
Think Progress / News Report
Published: Thursday 10 May 2012
“Romney has played up his pro-discrimination stand throughout this presidential campaign, boasting that he’d fought to take away marriage equality from same-sex couples.”
Ed Gillespie, senior adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, told Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown that the campaign would make President Obama’s support for marriage equality an issue this November and that Romney will actively push for a constitutional amendment to take away the right of states to voluntarily extend marriage equality to same-sex couples.
Gillespie told Todd that same-sex marriage “will be another bright-line difference in this campaign.” He added that the GOP intends to campaign on the issue:
TODD: Will you guys campaign on this, campaign on this issue of marriage?
GILLESPIE: Sure. I think it’s an important issue for people and it engenders strong feelings on both sides. I think it’s important to be respectful in how we talk about our differences, but the fact is that’s a significant difference in November.
Later, Gillespie added that Romney believes a federal marriage constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage “should be enacted.” Watch the video:
Gillespie is no stranger to using same-sex couples as a wedge issue; he served as President George W. Bush’s Republican National Committee Chairman during the 2004 campaign. During that campaign, Republicans pushed for anti-LGBT state constitutional amendments to get out the conservative vote. They also wrote the following into the Party’s official platform: “We strongly support President Bush’s call for a Constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage, and we believe that neither federal nor state judges nor bureaucrats should force states to recognize other living arrangements as equivalent to marriage.”
Popular support for marriage has soared since then — most Americans now support same-sex marriage. The fact that a number of states enacted constitutional amendments back in 2004 has little bearing eight years later.
Romney has played up his pro-discrimination stand throughout this presidential campaign, boasting that he’d fought to take away marriage equality from same-sex couples and that he’d dug up an an obscure 1913 law (originally intended to limit interracial marriage) to keep out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts. “On my watch, we fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage,” Romney told a CPAC Convention in February.
Top Stories
By Aviva Shen
11 comments on "Top Romney Adviser: We’ll Campaign on Constitutional Marriage Ban"
May 25, 2012 3:58pm
Don't be too surprised by willard's inability to stay grounded in the real world. He is a believer in a religion that was created by an illiterate shopkeeper that pulled the whole story straight out of his ass. Yeah! this is the guy I want with his finger on the nuclear trigger.
May 12, 2012 8:27pm
Any religion has the right to set the rules by which their members should live their lives. However, NO religion has the right to set the rules for non-members to live their lives. And they certainly cannot expect the government to enforce the rules for their religious sect on the rest of the country. That is the whole point of 'separation of church and state'. Simply declare 'Marriage' a religious ceremony, and 'civil union' a legal contract and legal relationship. Grant the CU all of the current rights and responsibilities commonly granted to marriage, define it as between consenting, legal adults. Period. Ignore gender, race, ethnic background, age, numbers, etc. Legal Adults. No more and no less. If I am not Catholic, Catholic rules are inapplicable to me, morally as well as legally. By the way, Catholic was simply and example. All denominations and faiths are treated the same in my book.
May 11, 2012 1:22pm
Jokes and sarcasm aside, these guys are dangerous.
May 10, 2012 9:52pm
Four questions:
"Whatever happened to 'The land of the free'?"
"When is Mittsy going to explain how he ended polygamy in the Mormon church?"
"Why hasn't Fox News reported how many wives Mittsy is hiding behind closed doors?"
"How many heterosexual marriages have ended in divorce solely because two gays in Boston got married?"
C'mon Mittsy, we the people really want to know.
May 10, 2012 9:20pm
These guys are nuts!
May 10, 2012 6:40pm
Romney does not want any legislation in the boardroom, but wants to legislate the hell out of you in your bedroom. Becoming an Expat is becoming more and more enticing all of the time.
May 10, 2012 5:35pm
An federal amendment to ban gay marriage. I thought the Republican party was against big government interfering with state and individuals' rights and freedoms. I'm confused?
May 10, 2012 4:26pm
It is more than controlling private behaviour via legislation, but Mittens wants to restrict the States' 10th ammendment rights in regards to allowing gay marriage. How can conservatives reconcile that? They are screaming for expansion of 10th ammendment rights.
May 10, 2012 1:14pm
Pinocchio Romney killed bin Laden and several dozen al Qaeda leaders and built the pyramids of Egypt. He saved the auto industry from collapse and built the Great Wall of China. Check if he had a hand in winning the War of Independence. With all his talk about war with Iran he’s responsible for gas price increases. Pinocchio Romney will create 500,000 jobs/month. Ha, ha, ha, ha, give me a break. With what? with Bushanomics that‘s cost 10 million jobs? Romney a liar? “Yes,” says his GOP pal Newt Gringrich.
May 10, 2012 12:10pm
Here we have a Mormon siding with the Christo/Nazi's, promising to legislate private behavior again. I have trouble believing that the majority of the electorate will buy it. I would like to believe that this bit of Vulture Conservatism won't fly and is yet another screw-up by the Romney Campaign. All will be well if Mitt will just keep talking.
May 10, 2012 11:38am
While at it, Romney can pass a law to criminalize evolution too! That seems like a legitimate GOP agenda, looking back at the non-issue issues they have forced on our society in the past 30 years.