g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 1 Romney Stance On Gay Rights? It's Complicated
by TOVIA SMITH
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/143590615/romney-stance-on-gay-ri
issues-its-complicated
December 12, 2011
Mitt Romney's position on gay rights doesn't quite lend itself to a
bumper
sticker. Depending on whom you ask, it is either too thoughtful and
nuanced,
or too inconsistent and politically expedient. Either way, it's
definitely
got the GOP presidential candidate on the defensive.
There was a reminder of that Monday when Mitt Romney was forced to
defend
his opposition to gay marriage during a restaurant encounter with a
grizzled
Vietnam veteran named Bob Garon, who happened to be gay.
"The story on same-sex marriage is that I have the same position on that
I
had when I ran from the very beginning," Romney said in an interview
last
month with the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire.
"I'm in favor of traditional marriage. I oppose same-sex marriage. At
the
same time, I don't believe in discriminating in employment or
opportunity
for gay individuals. So I favor gay rights; I do not favor same-sex
marriage
. That has been my position all along."
Always Opposed Gay Marriage
The second part of his statement is clear: Romney does not favor gay
marriage. He supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that
bars
federal recognition of gay marriage, as well as a constitutional
amendment
to do the same.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney did everything he could to stop gay
marriage there after the state's high court allowed it.
Romney responded to the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
decision
by vowing to keep the state from becoming, as he put it, "the Las Vegas
of
gay marriage." At the time, Romney stated: "I agree with 3,000 years of
recorded history. ... Marriage is an institution between a man and a
woman."
But back during his first political run in 1994, Romney aggressively
courted
gay voters, promising to do more for "full equality" for gays and
lesbians
than his Massachusetts opponent, Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Today, Romney denies any inconsistency.
"What happened was that the gay community changed their perspective as
to
what they wanted," Romney told CNN's Piers Morgan this summer,
elaborating
that when he talks about gay rights, he's never meant gay marriage, but
rather equal opportunity in jobs and housing.
"I oppose same-sex marriage," Romney told Morgan. "At the same time, I
would
advance the efforts not to discriminate against people who are gay."
Romney declined an interview with NPR for this report.
"You cannot in the same breath say that you support non-discrimination
against LGBT people and that you support DOMA," said Ned Flaherty with
Marriage Equality USA. "It makes no sense."
Flaherty adds that since job benefits often depend on marital status,
Romney
can't claim to be for equality and against same-sex marriage.
"Someone who says that either doesn't know what they're talking about,
or
they know full well what they're talking about and hope you don't know
what
they're taking about," says Flaherty.
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Flaherty also claims that Romney contradicted himself on the issue of
gays
in the military.
Back in 1994, Romney said he viewed the military's then-newly adopted
"don't
ask, don't tell" policy as a first step toward letting gays and
lesbians "
serve openly and honestly."
But during his first run for president, Romney defended "don't ask,
don't
tell" during a 2007 GOP debate on CNN.
"When I first heard of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, I thought it
sounded awful silly and didn't think that'd be very effective, and I
turned
out to be wrong," Romney said. "It's been the policy now in the military
for
, what, 10, 15 years — and it seems to be working. This is not the time
to
put in major change, a social experiment, in the middle of a war going
on."
"I would call it a sharp retreat from where he was," says Clarke Cooper,
head of the gay advocacy group Log Cabin Republicans. He says Romney's
position is at odds with core conservative principles of federalism.
"Welcome to my world. This is the frustration," says Cooper. "Gov.
Romney is
not so different from other conservatives."
Romney has argued that a federal definition of marriage is needed as a
practical matter. "You really can't have different marriage provisions
in
different states, and then expect people to be able to move around the
nation and have different rights in different states," Romney told CNN
in
2009. "There should be a national standard. And in my own view, is that
marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman."
"Gov. Romney was a champion on the battle for marriage in Massachusetts.
Right from the get-go, he was rock solid and that's never wavered," says
Kris Mineau, the head of the Massachusetts Family Institute, who has
been
working with Romney against gay marriage since 2004.
Romney may indeed have changed tone or emphasis over the years. For
example,
in 1994 he vowed to make "equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream
concern," while a decade later, he was bewailing that same-sex married
couples were "actually having children."
But Mineau maintains Romney has never actually contradicted himself, or
flinched in his opposition to gay marriage.
"I think he's getting a bum rap. Nothing has changed. And I believe that
he
has been solid right from the start, and he will remain solid," says
Mineau.
But if he makes it through the primaries and advances to the general
election, Romney may be tested in that, since polls now show a slight
majority of Americans in favor of gay marriage. | D**S
发帖数: 24887 | 2 He is a busy guy right now. Busy defending himself on a wide array of
subject :-) | o****g
发帖数: 657 | 3 这难道不是共和党内的“温和派”一贯的立场么？指望他们的支持，不如指望天外飞猪
来的现实。
【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: Romney Stance On Gay Rights? It's Complicated
: by TOVIA SMITH
: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/143590615/romney-stance-on-gay-ri
: issues-its-complicated
: December 12, 2011
: Mitt Romney's position on gay rights doesn't quite lend itself to a
: bumper
: sticker. Depending on whom you ask, it is either too thoughtful and
: nuanced,
: or too inconsistent and politically expedient. Either way, it's
| g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 4 注意ROMNEY的"I favor gay rights"指的是equal opportunity in jobs and housing
，不是CIVIL UNION，他支持DOMA，constitutional amendment，甚至DADT。 equal
opportunity in jobs and housing现在连极端反同的也不会反对了吧，ROMNEY看来是
不承认任何形式的recognition of gay relationships，所以ROMNEY根本就不是温和派
，称他是极端反同也不为过。温和派的应该是Jon Huntsman和Chris Christie那样的，
不支持MARRIAGE，但支持CU.
【在 o****g 的大作中提到】
: 这难道不是共和党内的“温和派”一贯的立场么？指望他们的支持，不如指望天外飞猪
: 来的现实。
| o****g
发帖数: 657 | 5 MR对于CU的看法：
They say Romney changed his position on civil unions. In truth, Romney said
he opposed civil unions but "would look to protect already established
rights and extend basic civil rights to domestic partnerships"(24). Critics
who fail to distinguish legally between a "domestic partnership" and a "
civil union" have falsely characterized Romney's statement as a support of
civil unions while neglecting his answer about civil unions in that same
questionnaire.
The only instance in which Romney considered civil unions was as a possible
downgrade from same-sex marriage as imposed by the state high court. At the
time, Romney stated he would prefer to not have either one but felt it was a
necessary compromise in order to prohibit gay marriage, which redefines
family. In Romney's exact words, "If the question is: "Do you support gay
marriage or civil unions?" I'd say neither; if they said you have to have
one or the other, that Massachusetts is going to have one or the other, then
I'd rather have civil unions than gay marriage."(25)
housing
【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: 注意ROMNEY的"I favor gay rights"指的是equal opportunity in jobs and housing
: ，不是CIVIL UNION，他支持DOMA，constitutional amendment，甚至DADT。 equal
: opportunity in jobs and housing现在连极端反同的也不会反对了吧，ROMNEY看来是
: 不承认任何形式的recognition of gay relationships，所以ROMNEY根本就不是温和派
: ，称他是极端反同也不为过。温和派的应该是Jon Huntsman和Chris Christie那样的，
: 不支持MARRIAGE，但支持CU.
| o****g
发帖数: 657 | 6 呵呵，对于共和党你能EXPECT什么呢？在我眼里不相信“治愈”同性恋的共和党已经是
相当相当的温和了哈哈。
housing
【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: 注意ROMNEY的"I favor gay rights"指的是equal opportunity in jobs and housing
: ，不是CIVIL UNION，他支持DOMA，constitutional amendment，甚至DADT。 equal
: opportunity in jobs and housing现在连极端反同的也不会反对了吧，ROMNEY看来是
: 不承认任何形式的recognition of gay relationships，所以ROMNEY根本就不是温和派
: ，称他是极端反同也不为过。温和派的应该是Jon Huntsman和Chris Christie那样的，
: 不支持MARRIAGE，但支持CU.
| g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 7 共和党也在变，别忘了没有一些共和党的支持，DADT不会被废除，NY同性婚姻不会合法
，有这样的共和党做榜样，只要求不“治愈”或equal opportunity in jobs and
housing，太便宜了像ROMNEY这样的用"I favor gay rights"来欺骗的反同人士了。
【在 o****g 的大作中提到】
: 呵呵，对于共和党你能EXPECT什么呢？在我眼里不相信“治愈”同性恋的共和党已经是
: 相当相当的温和了哈哈。
:
: housing
| m******8
发帖数: 2153 | 8 听NPR说他不支持DOMA，GAY MARRIAGE等等，只支持non-discrimination... | m******1
发帖数: 19713 | 9 是不支持废除DOMA吧？
【在 m******8 的大作中提到】
: 听NPR说他不支持DOMA，GAY MARRIAGE等等，只支持non-discrimination...
| o****g
发帖数: 657 | 10 这些共和党人是冒着政治自杀的风险来支持这个决定的，不能不让人觉得可悲。
【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: 共和党也在变，别忘了没有一些共和党的支持，DADT不会被废除，NY同性婚姻不会合法
: ，有这样的共和党做榜样，只要求不“治愈”或equal opportunity in jobs and
: housing，太便宜了像ROMNEY这样的用"I favor gay rights"来欺骗的反同人士了。
| m******8
发帖数: 2153 | 11 yes, he supports DOMA.
Recently there are many talks of LGBT human rights on NPR radio. | o****g
发帖数: 657 | 12 呵呵，GOP的候选人不支持DOMA的话他们的BASE岂不是要造反了……
【在 m******8 的大作中提到】
: yes, he supports DOMA.
: Recently there are many talks of LGBT human rights on NPR radio.
|
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