Presidential candidate Rick Santorum
suggested GOP rival Ted Cruz is too soft in his opposition to
marriage equality.
During an appearance on Simon Conway's
Iowa radio show, Santorum was asked about Cruz's recent remarks about
the need for conservatives to unify around one GOP candidate.
“Look, I'm very proud of the
conservative record I've put together,” Santorum answered.
“There's no one who's fought more on moral and cultural issues.
I'm not a Libertarian. There are people in this race that want the
states to decide whether there should be same-sex marriage or
polygamy or marijuana use. I don't believe that. I don't believe
that the states have the right to redefine something that's not
capable of redefining.”
“For me,” he
continued, “when you say the states have the right to define
marriage, it’s like saying, well, the states have the right to
redefine the chemical equation for water, it can be H3O instead of
H2O. Well, the states can’t do that. Why? Because nature
dictates what water is, nature dictates what marriage is, and the
states don’t have the right to violate what nature has dictated.”
Santorum is widely known for using
creative metaphors to illustrate his opposition to marriage equality.
During the last presidential election cycle, he decried the
institution because paper towels are not napkins and beer is not
water.
(Related: Rick
Santorum opposes gay marriage because paper towels are not napkins.)