Rick Santorum appearing on
controversial minister Bradlee Dean's radio program on Saturday urged
gay marriage foes not to give up.
Santorum, who later in the day spoke
at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, suggested that
proponents of gay marriage have a wider agenda than just its
legalization.
(Related: Michele
Bachmann linked Bradlee Dean sues MSNBC, Rachel Maddow.)
“This is not about gay marriage, it
is about changing what is right and wrong and fundamentally changing
what people of faith can say and do in society,” Santorum
said. “The ultimate objective here is to drive faith out of
the public square, to drive morality out of the laws of this country,
to secularize our society with a different set of values.”
“For us to say they are wining and we
should quit, I can't accept that. They are not winning, first of
all. ... There's been 32 votes in the country and [gay marriage] has
lost every single time.”
“When you just ask this question
generally, 'Well, is it okay for people to marry? Well, yes, it's
okay' But when the debate is had in the states and people recognize
what's at stake, people recognize how life will change if this is
instituted, then they say, 'Oh, wait a minute. We'll be tolerant,
but don't try to fundamentally change the entire moral structure of
our country.' Which is exactly what this is about.”
Santorum also reminded listeners that
he supports laws that outlaw sodomy.
“And I stood up from the very
beginning back in 2003 when the Supreme Court was going to create a
constitutional right to sodomy and said this is wrong we can't do
this. We can't have a constitutional right to consensual sexual
activity no matter what it is. Prior to that case, the court
protected sex within the bond of marriage, because that's the sacred
bond that government has a role of affirming and taking care of. But
it didn't. There was no such thing our founders contemplated to say
that any type of sexual consensual activity was constitutionally
protected. And so I stood up when no one else did and got hammered
for it. I stood up and I continue to stand up.”
(Related: Rick
Santorum says gay community waged jihad against him over gay
marriage.)