Republican presidential candidate Rick
Santorum said Friday that the United States will never be a great
nation so long as gay and lesbian couples can marry and abortion
remains legal.
Santorum, a vocal opponent of LGBT
rights, made his remarks during a speech at this weekend's Values
Voter Summit, which is sponsored by FRC Action, the legal arm of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC).
“America is never going to be a great
country if we're a country that kills our children in the womb,
ever!” Santorum said. “We are never going to be blessed by God
if we're a country that kills our children in the womb. We are never
going to be a great country if we allow for the destruction of the
American family, that's what's happened over the last 50 years.”
“And thank you for coming here. And
for standing for truth. Standing for what you know is right and best
for this country,” he
added.
Also at the conference on Friday, FRC
President Tony Perkins and Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver
presented Kentucky clerk Kim Davis with the Cost of Discipleship
Award for refusing to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's summer
ruling striking down gay marriage bans in all 50 states.
(Related: Kim
Davis honored at FRC's Values Voter Summit.)