Mitt Romney on Tuesday criticized
President Barack Obama's decision to no longer defend in court the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that bars federal
agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian
couples.
At a campaign stop in conservative
South Carolina, Romney accused the president of “paving” the way
for gay marriage.
“This is a president who also is
attempting to pave the way for same-sex marriage in our nation by
refusing through his attorney general to defend the Defense of
Marriage Act,” Romney told the crowd. “I will defend that act
and I will also defend marriage as a relationship between a man and a
woman.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.
Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Romney has in recent months lowered his
support for government recognition of gay unions, increasingly
speaking out in favor of a federal marriage amendment in an effort to
fend off claims that he advanced gay marriage as governor of
Massachusetts.
(Related: Mitt
Romney stunned by Rick Santorum claims that he advanced gay
marriage.)