A new poll has Mitt Romney edging out
Newt Gingrich as the most trusted GOP presidential candidate on gay
marriage.
According to the Washington
Post/ABC
News poll released Tuesday, 25 percent of Republicans say they
trust Romney the most with social issues such as abortion and gay
marriage. Gingrich trails with 15 percent, followed by Rick Santorum
(14%), Ron Paul (10%), Rick Perry (9%) and Jon Huntsman (3%). Six
percent of respondents said they did not trust any of the candidates
on social issues.
(Related: Jon
Huntsman endorses Mitt Romney as he steps out of GOP race.)
Santorum and Perry were the only two
candidates whose polling numbers increased from last month's survey.
Santorum was up by 10 points, while Perry enjoyed a more moderate 2
percent bump.
Romney has said he favors an amendment
to the U.S. Constitution which would define marriage as between a man
and a woman.
At
a town hall in October, Romney said he opposed marriage for gay
couples because “the ideal setting to raise a child for a society
like ours is when there's a man and a woman in the marriage.”
When pressed on civil unions, Romney
said he could only support a limited partnership for gay couples
which would include “such things as hospital visitation rights and
similar things.”
Santorum frequently discusses his
opposition to marriage equality. Campaigning in early caucus state
Iowa, where the institution is legal, he often used inanimate objects
to refer to such unions. In Iowa Falls, he said paper
towels are not napkins; and during an interview with the Iowa
Independent he said trees
are not cars in explaining his position. He has also suggested
that gay
marriage has wrecked the economy.