This is the same Mitt Romney who has filed a suit with the Massachusetts supreme court to make sure that a constitutional ban overturning same-sex marriage in the state makes it to the ballot, in spite of the legislature abandoning it. This is the governor who opposed same sex marriages vociferously the last few years, in a rather obvious attempt to improve his social-conservative credentials for his presidential bid. A guy who supports a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
In a story which has been simmering for several days and is now breaking at the Associated Press, and has been picked up by 365gay.com ("More Romney Gay Doublespeak Surfaces"), it is revealed that Romney had courted the LGBT vote in 1994 when he was running for Senate opposite Ted Kennedy. Said Romney, in an interview with Bay Windows (the largest New England LGBT newspaper) during that campaign:
more . . .
When I speak of free agency, I don’t just mean that each person can do what they want to do, I mean that our society should allow people to make their own choices and live by their own beliefs. People of integrity don’t force their beliefs on others, they make sure that others can live by different beliefs they may have. That’s the great thing about this country: it was founded to allow people to follow beliefs of their own conscience. I will work and have worked to fight discrimination and to assure each American equal opportunity.And in a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans:
We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern . . .adding that he would be more aggressive than Senator Kennedy in pushing for gay rights.
The Bay Windows story ("Romney Is A Big Fat Liar") gives the most complete coverage, including the text of their 1994 interview.
Though never fully in support of most gay rights, the turnaround in his positions in the last three to ten years is nevertheless breathtaking. And while we here at Outright Libertarians are not too surprised to find a Republican that gave up on promoting legal equality for all people (such as he may or may not have believed in when running for office in a liberal state), it seems the people he is really shocking are the national social-conservative base he was building. Not only is it surfacing that Romney was not always virulently anti-gay, it also seems he used to be . . . pro-choice (oh! no!). Quoting from the A.P. article:
The New York Times reported Saturday that the Family Research Council, among others, expressed disappointment with the contents of the Romney letter.Wouldn't it be ironic if it were the Religious Right he has been so actively courting that killed Romney's chance at the presidency?
"This is quite disturbing,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "This type of information is going to create a lot of problems for Governor Romney. He is going to have a hard time overcoming this."
