Former presidential candidate Rick
Santorum has weighed in on a controversial bill vetoed by Arizona
Governor Jan Brewer.
Opponents of the bill said that it
would have allowed individuals and businesses to discriminate against
gay men and lesbians based on their religious beliefs.
Proponents of the bill denied the
claim, mostly arguing that it was needed to protect people from being
forced to violate their religious convictions. But examples cited
generally revolved around business owners who refused to serve gay
couples.
In an interview with the National
Review filmed a few weeks ago at CPAC, host Patrick Brennan asked
Santorum about the importance of religious liberty.
“I think it's a critical issue,”
Santorum responded. “Of all of the rights, the trunk upon which
all other branches of rights flow from is freedom of conscience. If
you don't have freedom of conscience, then freedom of speech doesn't
mean very much.”
Brennan noted that prominent
Republicans such as Mitt Romney and Arizona Senator John McCain were
opposed to the proposed legislation, then asked, “Would you have
voted for it?”
“Absolutely,” Santorum immediately
answered. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)