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TAMPA, Fla. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney officially accepted his party’s nomination for president Thursday evening while pledging to “honor the institution of marriage” if elected.
During his speech before the Republican National Convention, Romney alluded to marriage in a brief portion of his speech that apparently was intended as a broader signal of support to social conservatives.
“As president, I will protect the sanctity of life,” Romney said. “I will honor the institution of marriage, and I will guarantee America’s first liberty: the freedom of religion.”
As with references to marriage in speeches earlier in the week from GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Romney didn’t explicitly say that his vision for marriage excluded same-sex couples. But Romney’s opposition to marriage equality is well known, including his support for a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country.
Romney’s reference to marriage could also be a knock against President Obama, who has come out in favor of marriage equality, dropped defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court and advanced an array of pro-LGBT policies while in office.
But for the most part, Romney’s speech consisted of narrating personal accounts of his family and business career, laying out a basic vision for where he wants to take the country and criticizing Obama for his decision-making over the past three-and-a-half years.
Romney articulated a five-step plan that he said would create 12 million new jobs — although he offered few details for each of these steps in his proposal.
The plan involved 1) making America energy independent by 2020 through expanding oil, coal and gas and renewable domestic energy production; 2) giving parents the option of school choice and every child a chance in the education system; 3) forging new trade agreements and punishing countries that cheat in trade; 4) cutting the deficit to put the country on track to a balanced budget; and 5) encouraging small business growth by reducing taxes and regulations as well as repealing health care reform.
Romney also called out to voters who supported Obama in the 2008 election but had become disaffected with his presidency because of the stagnant economy, saying, “I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division.”
“Tonight I’d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” Romney said. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
In an apparent attempt to reach out to women voters, Romney noted that women are now more likely to start their own businesses and devoted a significant portion of his speech to talking about the important role his wife Ann Romney played in raising their family as well as the bid of his mother, Lenore Romney, to become a U.S. senator in 1970.
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Romney is the most honorable ignorant immigrant…
Blah blah blah……….
I disagree with him, but the likelihood of that even happening is less than 1%. It’s EXTREMELY hard to pass a constitutional amendment. Obama may be pro-gay-marriage, but he is a colossal failure and everyone knows it.
The freedom of religion, as in the freedom to believe whichever branch of Christianity you choose. Freedom of religion doesn’t mean imposing your religious beliefs on other people.
Why did he not just say it outright – “I am against equality”. Problem is, that would be truthful. Washington is short on that, and that is really sad.
If you’re going to truly honor marriage, you wouldn’t put restrains on it and you would allow two people that LOVE eachother regardless of thier sexual orientation to get married. THAT would be protecting marriage. By using it to discriminate and spread negative energies, that is not protecting it, that is shitting on it.
I hope his children come out as gay
If anyone sees this as anything other that Romneys way of covering his ass in this part where Obama (Sorry Nicholas you don’t speak for everyone ISNT a colossal failure) being supportive of gay marriage. Why the fuck would Romney support gays when he don’t even value women rights?
Oh, I am also disappointed in Obama’s equality record too.
Thank goodness we have someone to honor the institution of marriage (sarcasm). Maybe all those straight folks will stop getting divorced 50% of the time.
He don’t know shit about marriage!
R money! At it again! What a bag of shit! Both him and Ryan displayed their “trophy” wives at the end. “we have a REAL marriage”. Yeah you keep telling yourself that! Lol
Joaquin, obviously you don’t read well… Obama is FOR equality!
Obama only did what he did because its election year im a gay married man and im voting for ROMNEY we need the change
Richard you are a disgrace to the Gay nation!
Nicholas Papa: No, he’s not a Failure in the slightest.
Blah, blah, blah… (insert rhetoric pandering to his fringe, extremist zealots)….blah, blah, blah….(insert lies and omissions)….blah, blah, blah….
Richard Alan Reid: So you Vote Against Equality. Disgusting.
Nicholas, where were you over the 8 years that Bush was in office? It takes alot of time and money to fix that amount of STUPID!!!
The only institution Romney should protect is the one he and Ryan should both be in.
I’m so sick of people thinking Bush’s fuck ups can be fix over night… Bush was in the chair for EIGHT YEARS, and it’s going to take longer than that to fix this… ROMNEY IS BUSH ALL OVER AGAIN.
2 words: Joseph Smith
Billy, there is “for” and “do”. Obama did not do enough in my opinion, and yes, I can read just fine, thank you.
Any gay person who votes for this guy is a moron.
Agreed, Amber. America needs equality, not some theocracy. That in of itself is filled with irony because the same people are yelling “freedom” when in the fine print reads, “As long as you agree you will do as you’re told”. Everything from second amendment remedies when things do not go their way, deportations, and overt hate speech. The fight for civil rights has not ended, unfortunately.
I honor Romney with a one finger salute.
I would never want to be anywhere in America except the East Coast or West Coast… the rest of America is just one ignorant, stagnant, big black hole that refuses to move past the year 1950.
Screw him and his bigoted greed monsters’n
Gary Johnson is looking better all the time.
…and by “honor”, he means “segregate”.
I refuse to honor the institution of romney.
how are we supposed to “marry” then?
Why are all these fucking Republicans the same?!? Can’t we just have someone who is open minded and not a bible thumper in office. Its like theres a certain procedure to be a Rep. C’MON!!!
Is he also going to honor child abuse, sexual predators and others who do much worse things than being gay.
an idiotic moron
Here’s a better idea Mitt go back to the hole you crawled out of and let equality reign with Obama as our president over your antiquated ass
im sure that will make all of his wives very happy, just like his grandaddy
I will just fart in ignorant peoples faces. Easier than arguing =)