Former GOP presidential candidate Rick
Santorum believes TV's Will & Grace is to blame for the
increasing acceptance of gay marriage.
The comedy, which ran for eight seasons
on NBC, is television's most successful series with lead gay
characters. The sitcom received 83 Emmy Award nominations and earned
16 during its entire run.
Santorum,
a strong opponent of gay rights, discussed changing attitudes on
marriage equality during a closed session at this year's conservative
CPAC convention.
“Attitudes on marriage basically
stayed the same for 30 years after the sexual revolution,” Santorum
is seen saying in a comedy clip posted by Tea Party Report's Susie
Sampson. “It didn't change until one program on television … and
that was Will & Grace.” (The video is embedded on this
page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Vice President Joe Biden has previously
credited the show for influencing Americans on gay rights.
In an appearance on CNN, openly gay Max
Mutchnick, who created Will & Grace with David Kohan,
called the Biden mention “amazing.”
“It's just been amazing to hear such
a high profile figure talk about a television show,” Mutchnick
said. “I mean, it was similar to listening to Dan Quayle talk
about Murphy Brown.”