GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney
has called the Massachusetts gay community inconsistent on gay
rights, suggesting it is to blame for his opposition to gay marriage.
The former one-term Massachusetts
governor who last week formally declared for the 2012 GOP
presidential nomination appears Tuesday
night on CNN's Piers
Morgan Tonight.
In a clip released by the cable
network, Morgan asks the Republican to clarify his position on gay
rights, prompting Romney to go on the defensive, blaming activists
for altering their wants.
“When you say you're in favor of gay
rights, you're not, you're in favor of some,” Morgan said, then
added, “Am I right?”
“What happened was the gay community
changed their perspective as to what they wanted,” Romney answered.
“When I ran for governor, one of the
big issues was marriage, gay marriage. My opponent said she'd sign a
bill in favor of gay marriage. I said that I would not. I oppose
same-sex marriage.”
Romney added that he opposes workplace
discrimination based on sexual orientation, noting that he appointed
several judges who later came out gay.
“For instance, as the governor, I had
members of my team that were gay. I appointed a couple of judges who
apparently I found out were gay. Look, I didn't ask people their
sexual orientation.”
When Morgan asked Romney if his Mormon
faith means “that you view homosexuality as a sin,” Romney took a
pass.
“That's something that you can take
up with the church. I'm not a spokesman for my church,” he said.
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)