Former Texas Governor Rick Perry on
Thursday became the 10th candidate vying for the
Republican presidential nomination.
Perry launched his second bid for the
White House with the debut of a new campaign website, ahead of a
planned speech outside of Dallas.
In a 70-second announcement
video, Perry touts his qualifications for the office, saying that
the nation needs “a president that has done the right thing.”
“We need a president who bridges the
partisan divide, rather than widen, who brings people together,”
Perry says.
Like all of his Republican rivals for
the GOP nomination, Perry does not support marriage equality.
(Former New York Governor George Pataki has not publicly stated his
position on the issue, saying only that the issue of marriage should
be left up to the states. As governor, he signed a gay protections
bill.)
Perry has previously compared being gay
to alcoholism, urged the Boys Scouts of America (BSA) to keep its
former ban on openly gay scouts, defended the military's now-defunct
ban on openly gay service members, and signed a presidential
candidates pledge vowing to oppose marriage equality.