Gay GOP group GOProud has called on
Rick Santorum to apologize to gay soldier Stephen Hill.
Hill is the Army service member serving
in Iraq who contributed a YouTube video question to Thursday's Fox
News/Google GOP presidential debate.
“Do you intend to circumvent the
progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the
military?” Hill asked, referring to Tuesday's repeal of “Don't
Ask, Don't Tell,” the military policy that banned gay and bisexual
troops from serving openly.
Hill's video question was booed by the
audience, who were clearly delighted when Santorum
said he would work to reinstate the policy, if elected president.
“Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected
our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay
soldier who asked him the question about 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
repeal, an immediate apology,” GOProud Executive Director Jimmy
LaSalvia and Chairman Christopher R. Barron said in a joint
statement.
“That brave gay soldier is doing
something Rick Santorum has never done – put his life on the line
to defend our freedoms and our way of life. It is telling that Rick
Santorum is so blinded by his anti-gay bigotry that he couldn't even
bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.”
“Stephen Hill is serving our country
in Iraq, fighting a war Senator Santorum says he supports. How can
Senator Santorum claim to support this war if he doesn't support the
brave men and women who are fighting it?” Barron and LaSalvia
added.