In a recently uncovered campaign video from 2005, Mitt Romney — who publicly said he opposed child-rearing by gay and lesbian couples — told an audience in South Carolina that gay parenting is “not right on paper,” and “not right in fact.”
“Today, same-sex couples are marrying under the law in Massachusetts,” he said. “Some are actually having children born to them. We’ve been asked to change their birth certificates to remove the phrase ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ and replace it with ‘Parent A’ and ‘Parent B.’ It’s not right on paper. It’s not right in fact. Every child has the right to have a mother and father.”
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Last week, the Boston Globe reported that in 2003, while Governor of Massachusetts, Romney insisted that his top legal staff individually review the circumstances of every birth to same-sex parents, and that only after winning a case-by-case approval from Romney’s lawyers could hospital officials and town clerks across the state be permitted to cross out by hand the word “father” on individual birth certificates, and then write in “second parent,” in ink.
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“The facts speak for themselves: Mitt Romney doesn’t like LGBT people,” said Jerame Davis, Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats, in a statement Monday, reacting to the video,
“Even before this latest revelation, we knew Mitt Romney had fought tooth and nail against gay and lesbian parents’ ability to obtain correct birth certificates for their children. Now we get to hear Romney explain his revulsion in his own words,” said David.
“Mitt Romney refuses to acknowledge the basic dignity of our relationships, of our families, of our lives – and this new video just reinforces that message.”
In 1994, while campaigning for a Senate seat against then incumbent Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, Romney promised to be a moderate champion of gay rights. Later, while governor as well as during his first run for president in 2008, Romney hardened his stance, and actively supported efforts in Massachusetts for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
In his current presidential campaign, Romney continues to oppose same-sex marriage and has said he supports amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
