Rick Perry has called into question
Mitt Romney's about-face on gay rights.
During an appearance on Fox News'
O'Reilly Factor, Perry told host Bill O'Reilly that he's
concerned about Romney changing his mind on issues.
When O'Reilly asked: “Do you respect
the evolution that the guy might have gone through?” Texas Governor
Perry answered: “How do you change at the age of 50 or 60 positions
on life, positions on guns, positions on traditional marriage. I
mean, those aren't minor issues, Bill. So, to change those at age of
50 or 60 tells you all you need to know about that.” (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
During Romney's tenure as governor of
Massachusetts, the state's top court legalized gay marriage. Romney
at first attempted to strike a more moderate tone on gay rights by
backing civil unions for gay couples. He would later reverse
himself, backing a constitutional amendment that would have overruled
the court's decision and make no provisions for civil unions. And in
campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 1994, Romney claimed he would be a
stronger advocate for gay rights than then-Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
“We must make equality for gays and
lesbians a mainstream concern,” Romney wrote in a letter to gay GOP
group Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts.
(Related: Mitt
Romney's gay rights flip-flop slammed by Obama strategist David
Axelrod.)