Rick Santorum has been booed again in
New Hampshire over his opposition to gay rights.
Santorum on Thursday was challenged on
the issue of marriage equality during a campaign stop at New England
College in Concord, New Hampshire. There he told the college
students that gay marriage was not okay because it would open to the
door to polygamy.
During a town hall in Keene on Friday,
Santorum's positions on gay rights were challenged when a man asked
Santorum about his opposition to gay and bisexual troops serving
openly.
“Everybody has certain inalienable
rights,” said Santorum, who was dressed in a white button down
shirt and a light gray sweater vest. “Serving in the military is
not an inalienable right. It's a privilege. You're selected. Not
everybody can serve for a variety of different reasons.”
“Why? Because we decide what is in
the best interest of national security and our fighting force because
that's what the military is there to do. So, it is not an
inalienable right.”
“Number one, marriage is a privilege
it is not a right. It is a privilege given by society, held up by
society for purposes that it provides some societal good. And I
would make the argument, some extraordinary societal good.”
“If it was an inalienable right, then
you can imagine all the different types of marriages that would have
happen. And, of course, marriage is an essential good, because it
provides something unique in society. It provides a … and reflects
nature and nature's God – words from the Declaration of
Independence. Which is man and woman coming together to form a bond
to have children and continue society in a way that gives children
their birthright, which is their mother and their father.”
While several booes and hisses were
heard throughout Santorum's answer, they became louder when he said:
“So, it's not discrimination. Not to grant privileges. It's
discrimination to deny rights. I don't want to deny rights to
anyone. Everyone has a right to live their life. That doesn't mean
that they are entitled to certain privileges that society gives for
certain benefits that society obtains from those relationships.”
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