Rick Santorum in the Hot Seat Again for Gay Marriage Stance

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CONCORD, N.H.) -- Rick Santorum became an internet sensation -- and the subject of many jabs -- when a website mocking him turned up at the top of every Google search.

The website, launched by sex commentator and gay activist Dan Savage, was prompted by Santorum’s comments in 2003 talking “man on dog” relationships when explaining his views on same-sex marriage.

Now the former senator from Pennsylvania is once again in the hot seat as he campaigns in socially liberal New Hampshire.

For the second day in a row, Santorum was booed Friday after an exchange with an older gentleman about same-sex marriage. This came a day after the former senator from Pennsylvania tried to explain his logic to a group of students in New Hampshire and compared homosexual union to polygamy.

“So anyone can marry anybody else? So if that’s the case, then everyone can marry several people … so you can be married to five people. Is that O.K.?” Santorum questioned a student in Concord, N.H.

Santorum was loudly booed at the end of that event.

Santorum’s sentiments on homosexuality have also often contradicted his own statements. He has spoken in favor of personal freedoms, opposing the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill in 2002 on the grounds that it was an “affront to personal freedom and liberty.” But at the same time, he argues that states do have a right to “limit individuals’ wants and passions.”

His views didn’t affect Santorum in Iowa, where evangelical Christians make up a large part of the Republican electorate. The religious groups voted heavily in his favor and helped propel him to top status just days before the Iowa caucus.

But the story is different in New Hampshire, a state where gay marriage is legal and which boasts a much more moderate set of Republicans. Santorum’s views could be problematic for him there, if recent events are any evidence.

He is likely to receive a more friendly reception in South Carolina, but nationally, Santorum’s views could come back to haunt him.

One of his former aides who is openly gay recently jumped to Santorum’s defense, saying the former senator is not homophobic but simply opposes gay marriage.

“From a legal standpoint, he’s kind of right. The word privacy is nowhere in the Constitution,” Robert Traynham, who worked for Santorum when he was a senator, said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.

When asked if Santorum is against the idea of homosexuality, Traynham testily responded, “I worked for him for 10 years. I was openly out to him. I never ever heard him say anything remotely like that at all.  If I ever thought he thought that, I would have never worked for him.”

Santorum has also received heavy criticism for his opinions against birth control and abortion. He supports outlawing abortion in all cases, even rape and incest, and supports criminal prosecution for doctors who perform abortions.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Rick Santorum Gets Booed After Gay Marriage Exchange

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CONCORD, N.H.) -- Rick Santorum was booed after a lengthy back-and-forth with several students in Concord, N.H., on the issue of same-sex marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire.

As Santorum addressed a group of college students, one asked him how same-sex marriage affects him personally and why not have legal same-sex marriage as long as it’s not religious in nature.

Santorum answered that for “230 years marriage has been between one man and woman. So if you want to change the law...you have to make the positive argument about why.”

At that point, several members of the audience started trying to engage the candidate.

Santorum said, “We’re not shouting out here,” before asking the students to raise their hands.

He called on a woman who asked, “How about the idea that all men are created equal, rights to happiness and liberty?"

Santorum responded, “Are we saying that everyone should have the right to marry?”

Several members of the crowd loudly yelled, “Yes!”

At that point, the former senator from Pennsylvania compared same-sex marriage to polygamy.

“So anyone can marry can marry anybody else? So if that’s the case, then everyone can marry several people…so you can be married to five people. Is that OK?” Santorum asked.

“Not what she’s asking!” another student yelled.

Santorum answered, “Wait, wait, I’m asking her. You said everyone has their right to their own happiness.”

The crowd clapped as Santorum got prickly and said, “I’m happy to engage…but we have to have a civil discussion or we will move on to the next question. My question to you is: People should be allowed to do whatever makes them happy?”

The student answered that they should as long as no one was harming anyone else. Santorum countered, raising his voice and asking, “Who decides if they are harming other people? Is there an objective standard?”

The student told the candidate, “It’s morally right for two men to have the same rights as a man and woman.”

Santorum again compared same-sex marriage to polygamy, clearly annoyed at the continued back and forth.

“What about three men?” he asked.

The student angrily answered, “That’s not what we are talking about!”

Santorum continued, but threatened to end the discussion, telling the crowd, “I’m going to give people one more chance and then we are going to move on. I’m going to ask the question again. If three people happen to get married based on what you just said, what makes that wrong and what you said right?”

“That’s irrelevant,” the student responded. “My personal opinion is, ‘Yeah go for it,’ but what I’m asking [is] for you [to] justify your belief and your high morals about all men created equal --”

At that point, Santorum cut off the student and, for the third time, asked, “What about three men?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” the student answered. “I’m talking about the basic right that you have with another woman.”

He then told the crowd that he wanted to “have a discussion about what that means…that marriage really means whatever you want it to mean.”

“I believe we’re made that way. God made men and woman to keep civilization and provide the best environment to raise children,” Santorum said. “I have no problem if people want to have relationships, but marriage provides a good to society. It’s unique because it is the union that causes children to be raised.”

Santorum added that “every child in America deserves” to know their mother and father.

“We deny children that birthright, then I think we are harming kids and society and not promoting what’s best,” Santorum added, before moving on to the  next question.

When he wrapped up, several questions later, the crowd loudly booed him.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Gay Veteran Steals the Show at Romney Endorsement Event in NH

Ethan Miller/Getty Images(MANCHESTER, N.H.) -- Mitt Romney had an uncomfortable exchange over same-sex marriage with a gay veteran having breakfast in New Hampshire Monday morning.

At an event that was meant to highlight the endorsement of Romney by Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, veteran Bob Garon of Ebson, N.H., asked the presidential candidate, who stopped by his breakfast table, whether he supports the repeal of the New Hampshire same-sex marriage law.

A Republican-controlled legislature has moved toward repealing the law, enacted in 2009 when Democrats controlled the legislature.  A vote could come next month.

Romney told Garon that he supports a repeal of the same-sex marriage law, prompting an emotional exchange.

“I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman,” Romney said, joining Garon in the diner booth after shaking hands with several other patrons.

Garon responded, clarifying that what that meant was that if Romney is elected he would not support any legislation that would change the law so that gay servicemen would get the same benefits as heterosexual couples.

“I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney said.  “We apparently disagree on that.”

“It’s good to know how you feel, that you do not believe everyone is entitled to their constitutional rights,” the 63-year-old New Hampshire resident responded.

“No, actually I think at the time the Constitution was written it was pretty clear marriage was between a man and a woman,” Romney said, just as one of his campaign aides chimed in that they had “to get going” to another Fox interview.

“Oh, I guess the question was too hot,” Garon quipped to Romney and his aide.

“No, I gave you the answer, you said you had a yes or no answer and I gave you the answer,” Romney said, turning back to face Garon.

“You did and I appreciate your answer.  And I learned something: New Hampshire is right, you have to look a man in the eye to get a good answer and you know what, governor?” Garon said, pausing.  “Good luck.  You’re going to need it.”

Romney laughed and agreed with Garon that he’d need the luck, shaking his hand before leaving.  Garon then held court with the media, voicing his anger of Romney’s answer while also saying that he, “got what he asked for” when he poised the yes or no question.

Asked by reporters after Romney left why he feels so strongly about the issue, Garon grew even more passionate.

“Because I’m gay, all right?” he said. “And I happen to love a man just like you probably love your wife.”

Garon was sitting in a booth with his husband, whom he said he married in June.

“I went and fought for my country and I think my spouse should be entitled to the same [benefits as they would] if I were married to a woman,” he said. “What the hell is the difference?”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Boy Tells Bachmann His Gay Mom Doesn’t Need to Be ‘Fixed’

AFP/Getty Images(CHICAGO) -- An 8-year-old boy was prompted by his gay mother to confront GOP contender Michele Bachmann about homosexuality at a book-signing event in South Carolina.

Rep. Bachmann, who supports a Constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman, initially coaxed the seemingly shy child to speak to her during the weekend event, only to be left virtually speechless when she realized what the boy said.

After repeated prompting from his mother to approach the congresswoman and urged  to, "say it louder" when he couldn't be heard, the boy, identified only as Elijah, whispered to Bachmann, “My mom is gay and she doesn’t need fixing.” The woman who captured the video,  posted it to YouTube with the title, "Activist Elijah With Michele Bachmann."

Bachmann, who crouched low to hear him, initially says nothing to the boy, but as he walks away she responds: “Ok. Bye-bye.”

[Click here to watch the video]

According to Chicago Now, a woman who identified herself as the shooter of the clip said the boy’s mother planned to confront Bachmann but got nervous. Elijah insisted they stay at the event to talk to the Congresswoman.

“I was standing in line with Elijah and his mom.  His mom was going to say something to her, but she got nervous and told me she wanted to leave.  We were about to step out of the line but Elijah cried out, ‘Nooo!’  He grabbed onto her coat and pulled her back in the line, saying he wanted to talk to her,” the woman told Chicago Now.

Bachmann was confronted by a high school student at an event in Iowa last week, also asking about gay rights in a video that went viral.

“Why can’t same sex couples get married?” 16-year-old Jane Schmidt asked Bachmann.

“They can get married, [if] they abide by the same laws as everyone else.  They can marry a man, if they’re a woman, and can marry a woman if they’re man,” Bachmann responded.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Student Challenges Bachmann on Gay Rights

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(DES MOINES, Iowa) -- A 16-year-old high school student confronted GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann on same-sex marriage and gay rights at a campaign event in Iowa, leading the congresswoman to suggest that if gay people want to get married they should marry people of opposite gender.

In a video posted to YouTube, Jane Schmidt, who identifies herself as the head of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at her high school in Waverly, Iowa, asked the candidate on Wednesday: “What would you do to help protect GSAs in high schools and support the LGBT community?”

LGBT is shorthand for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Bachmann told Schmidt it was the government’s role to treat all people equally, and not give preference to any group based on sexuality.

“As Americans we all have the same civil rights,” she said. “That’s really what government’s role is, to protect our civil rights. There shouldn’t be any special rights or special set of criteria based on people preferences. We all have the same civil rights.”

“Then why can’t same sex couples get married?” asked Schmidt.

“They can get married, [if] they abide by the same laws as everyone else. They can marry a man, if they’re a woman, and can marry a woman if they’re man,” Bachmann said.

Same sex marriage has been legal in Iowa since 2009, the result of a court ruling.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Defense of Marriage Act Repeal Takes a Step Forward in the Senate

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Senate Democrats’ efforts to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) took a procedural step forward Thursday, but final passage into law faces a very uphill climb.

By a party-line vote of 10-8, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the repeal of DOMA, the Clinton administration law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, out of committee by voting for the Respect for Marriage Act bill.

“So we begin with a single step on a march to equality,” committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said at a news conference following the vote.  “Marriage is a matter for the states to determine -- whether it’s my state or any other state.  And those Americans who are lawfully married should have the same protection under federal laws that my wife and I enjoy.”

While noting disappointment at not having a single Republican vote in the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., hailed the procedural step.

“DOMA is discriminatory,” Feinstein said.  “DOMA prevents people legally married in a state to get the same rights and benefits -- federal rights and benefits that a heterosexual couple would get.  So it treats one class differently from another class.”

The bill’s next step is to be sent to the full Senate for consideration.  It’s unclear when, if at all, the majority leader will take up the bill in front of the full Senate.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Vote to Repeal Defense of Marriage Act Is Delayed

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee met Thursday to discuss legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but after a procedural hold up the legislation has been delayed until next week for a vote.

The Respect for Marriage Act, which was introduced in March of this year, would provide federal protection to couples married in states that recognize same-sex marriages.

“DOMA has created a tier of second-class families who are not treated equally under the law,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“This runs counter to the values upon which America was founded.”

The bill would redefine marriage to be determined by the States, as it historically has been.

“The Respect for Marriage Act would restore the power of states to define and determine 'marriage' without the Federal Government imposing its restrictive definition of marriage on the states,” said Leahy.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) echoed Leahy’s remarks.

“It has been firmly established over decades, that family law, including marriage, is a legal (preserved) to the state.”

Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages. However, according to DOMA, which was passed in 1996, marriage is defined as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.”

“When DOMA passed no state had passed a same sex marriage bill,” Feinstein said during the meeting.

“Where now today there are 131,000 same sex couples in the United States. They are real people. They’re our family members, our friends, our neighbors. They made a solid commitment of marriage to each other.”

Leahy and Feinstein, who are two of the cosponsors of the bill, were quick to point out that nothing in the bill would force any state or religion to perform same-sex marriages, simply recognize the “1,100 federal rights and benefits provided to every other legally married couple in the country,” said Feinstein.

Some of the rights that are not awarded to same-sex marriages include: filing joint income taxes, veterans’ benefits, employment benefits, and immigration laws.

Republicans on the committee Thursday requested that the vote be delayed until next week.

However, the legislation is expected to pass the panel when it comes to a vote, as it is supported by all 10 Democrats on the committee.  After that the legislation will go to the full Senate for consideration.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Perry: 'Gay Marriage is Not Fine with Me'

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Last week in Aspen, Colorado, Rick Perry said he supported New York’s decision to allow gay marriage because it is a states’ rights issue, saying “that's fine with me,” but on Thursday, the Texas governor was adamant he does not endorse gay marriage.

“I probably needed to add a few words after that ‘it’s fine with me,’ and that it’s fine with me that a state is using their sovereign rights to decide an issue.  Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me.  My stance hasn’t changed,” Perry told Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council on Thursday.

Perry, who touts himself as a social conservative, came under fire for his comments on the New York law from other social conservatives, such as presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

“I am not, as some in this race have said, OK with New York doing what they're doing,” Santorum said Tuesday in Ankeny, Iowa.  “What New York did was wrong.  I will oppose it and I will go to New York, if necessary, to help overturn it.”

But Perry maintained his comments mirrored the rights guaranteed to states by the 10th Amendment.

“My comment reflects my recognition that marriage and most issues of the family historically have been decided by the people at the state and local level and that is absolutely the state of law under our constitution,” Perry said.

In 2005, Texas voters approved a marriage amendment to the Texas Constitution which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Perry supports a federal marriage amendment despite being a strong supporter of states’ rights.

“To not pass the federal marriage amendment would impinge on Texas and other states' right not to have marriage forced on them by these activist judges, these special interest groups.  Our constitution was designed to respect states including the amendments process,” he said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Bachmann Signs Pledge for Ban on Porn and Same-Sex Marriage

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Michele Bachmann became the first presidential candidate to sign a pledge, vowing to support a constitutional amendment that defines marriage between a man and a woman, and which calls for a ban on all pornography.

“The Marriage Vow -- A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family,” sponsored by the Family Leader, an Iowa-based conservative organization, equates same-sex marriage with bigamy and polygamy and calls on candidates to promise to be faithful to their spouses.

The two-page pledge includes a “Declaration of Dependence on Marriage and Family” that explains the deterioration of traditional marriage on “quickie divorce,” unmarried couples living together, and inaccurate science that suggests homosexuality is a choice.

Candidates, like Bachmann, who sign the pledge vow  “vigorous opposition to any redefinition of the Institution of Marriage...through statutory, bureaucratic, or court-imposed recognition of intimate unions which are bigamous, polygamous, polyandrous, same-sex.”

They also recognize that “married people enjoy better health, better sex.”

Though Bachmann sponsored a Minnesota law defining marriage between a man and a woman, the positions she supports in the pledge contradict some of the statements she has made publicly regarding gay people and same-sex marriage.

Bachmann’s support of a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, conflicts with previous comments she has made, in which she has said she would not interfere with states that have legalized same-sex marriage.

By signing the pledge she supports the idea that homosexuality is a choice, and that being gay is a health risk. Last month, however, she told CBS’ Bob Scheifer that she was “not running to be anyone’s judge.”

"You know, I firmly believe that people need to make their own decisions about that," she said when asked if being gay was a choice. "But I am running for the presidency of the United States. I am not running to be anyone's judge. And that's where I'm coming from in this race."

The first two states to pick a Republican candidate for the White House, Iowa and New Hampshire, have both legalized same-sex marriage.

The pledge also asks candidates to promise to oppose the imposition of Sharia Islamic law.

Bachmann’s campaign did not respond to comment for this story.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Senators Release ‘It Gets Better’ Video

Creatas Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Thirteen democratic Senators released their contribution to the It Gets Better Project, a video campaign aimed at preventing suicide among bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.

“In my view these videos are saving lives,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., in a press conference Thursday.

The video unveiled Wednesday features Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The senators began working on it about two months ago, said Coons.

Sen. Gillibrand states her support of gay marriage in the video.  Last week, New York became the largest state to legalize gay marriage.

“Every loving couple should have the right to be married, to be able to celebrate that love, that commitment with all of their friends and loved ones around,” says Gillibrand.

“Sexual orientation should not be a factor in a person's access to equality,” says Sen. Feinstein at another point in the video.

“And it certainly shouldn’t be the policy of the United States government,” adds Coons.

“It is a really an incredible moment for the campaign,” said Scott Zumwalt, project manager of the It Gets Better Project, “and something we couldn't imagine happening ten months ago.”

Since launching last September, the campaign has received more than 20,000 videos from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults. The project’s YouTube channel also includes videos from President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the Chicago Cubs.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio