Former Pennsylvania Senator and GOP
presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has denied he's a homophobe.
During a Joy Behar Show segment
featuring Don Lemon's recent self-outing, Behar said Santorum “seems
like a big homophobe.”
During an interview on WOR radio's The
Steve Malzberg Show, Santorum denied the claim.
When Malzberg asked, “Where does she
get that you are a homophobe?” Santorum suggested the media was
attacking him because he opposes gay marriage.
“Yeah, ’cause I, I guess because
you stand for traditional marriage and you believe that, you know,
that people should, we should have a society that affirms one man and
one woman as marriage, that makes you someone who’s a hater,
someone that doesn’t, doesn’t like people. I disagree with
people, by the way, who are gay and straight who believe in changing
the marriage laws. But it’s a public policy discussion, and this is
the, this is really the problem that we see on the left which is the
personalization of politics. I mean, we have a policy disagreement,
and, and which I am very passionate about. I admit that. Because I do
believe the family, integrity of the family is important for the
future of our country. But that does not mean that, that I don’t
like people or I hate people or that there’s something wrong. The
only thing that’s wrong is their opinion.”
Santorum also denied he's homophobic in
February, saying
he has gay friends.
But Santorum, who also opposes
gay adoption and supports
the reinstatement of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” created a
firestorm of controversy in 2003 when he likened gay unions to “man
on dog.”
Santorum “compared people in stable,
loving same-sex relationships to dog fuckers and kiddie rapists,”
gay
rights activist Dan Savage recently said. He “would make gay
and straight sodomy illegal, ban gay marriage and any other
protections for same-sex couples, and prevent loving same-sex couples
from adopting children who need homes.”
In January, Santorum said
opposition to gay rights is “common sense.”