Rick Santorum, the former Republican
presidential candidate, pleaded for an end to an “assault on
marriage” on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Republican National
Convention taking place in Tampa, Santorum made veiled references to
gay marriage with suggestions that the institution was under attack.
“The fact is that marriage is
disappearing in places where government dependency is highest,”
Santorum told the crowd. “Most single mothers do heroic work and
an amazing job raising their children, but if America is going to
succeed, we must stop the assault on marriage and the family.”
While he never explicitly mentioned gay
nuptials, Santorum, who has a long and vocal record opposing gay
rights and marriage in particular, said President Barack Obama, who
in May became the first sitting president to endorse marriage
equality, has enacted policies that “undermine the traditional
family.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Earlier in the day, Mitt Romney became
the party's official nominee for president and Republicans ratified
the 2012 Republican Party platform, which supports a federal
constitutional amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union.
(Related: Pro-gay
marriage conservatives blast GOP platform in full-page ad.)