SUMMARY:
The candidate says his opposition to same-sex marriage
shouldn't be misinterpreted and that he appointed gays
to major jobs as governor.
Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that
his opposition to same-sex marriage should not be interpreted
as intolerance of gays, who served in his administration
when he was Massachusetts governor.
In
a brief interview with the Associated Press, Romney
elaborated on comments he made during a campaign event
dubbed "Ask Mitt Anything" in which an audience
member questioned whether pastors should preach that
homosexuality is a sin. Romney said the government shouldn't
tell pastors what they can say.
Afterward,
Romney said he would not preach the same message.
"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," the former
governor said in the AP interview.
Romney's
record on gay rights has drawn scrutiny -- and criticism
that he changes with the political winds. In a 1994
bid against Sen. Edward Kennedy, Romney argued that
he would be a better champion of gay rights than the
Democrat. In 2003, after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court ruled that same-sex couples could wed in the state,
Romney pushed for a constitutional amendment to ban
gay marriage.
On
Thursday, after talking to about 400 people at a
downtown library, he said that doesn't mean he is
intolerant.
"What
you look for in a leader is someone who will welcome
and treat with respect people who made different choices
and have different beliefs in their lives and have differences.
I have nothing but respect and feelings of tolerance
for people with differences from myself and feel that
way with regards to those who are gay," he said.
He
noted that one of his Cabinet members was gay and that
he appointed gays to positions of responsibility in
his administration.
"I
oppose discrimination against gay people," Romney
said. "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."
He
said he is opposed to same-sex marriage because it's
not in the best interest of children.
He
expressed less tolerance for illegal immigrants, and
said he and President Bush have a difference of opinions
on a bill that would provide a path toward legalization
for an estimated 12 million people unlawfully in the
country.
"He
has his view, and other people have their views and
I have my own," Romney said. "This is for
all intents
and purposes a form of amnesty in that everyone who
is
here illegally today will be able to stay under this
bill."
The
bill is unfair to people who are trying to come to
the country legally, he said. People here illegally
should be able to apply to come to the United States,
but under
the same terms as everyone else and behind those who
have already applied.
"I
don't think that we're going to round up 11 or 12 or
however many million people and bus them out of the
country. That's not what I'm talking about," Romney
said. "Those who committed felonies, of course,
would be deported. Those who require government assistance
to stay here would surely need to get off government
assistance and ultimately could not remain here on government
assistance."
At
a news conference Thursday, Bush argued that the bill
does not grant amnesty.
"Amnesty
is forgiveness without a penalty," said the president,
who added the measure is "a difficult piece of
legislation. And those who are looking to find fault
with this bill will always be able to find something." |
