CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Republican U.S. senator Rick Santorum maintained on Wednesday that his comments comparing homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest, and adultery were simply restating arguments made by the Supreme Court when upholding Georgia's antigay sodomy law in 1986 and in no way reflect his feelings about gay people, The Washington Post reports. The Pennsylvania senator was responding to a 23-year-old constituent who confronted him at a town hall meeting in Williamsport, Pa. The man identified himself as a proud gay Pennsylvanian and asked, "How can you compare my sexuality and what I do in the privacy of my home to bigamy or incest?" Santorum said he was only restating arguments made by Supreme Court justice Byron White in 1986. "Justice White said virtually the same thing that I said, that if...you tell the states that they cannot regulate in this area...then you leave open the door for a variety of other sexual activities to occur within the home and not be regulated." Meanwhile, Santorum's fellow Republicans are not apologizing for his comments either; nor are they asking him to step down as the GOP conference chair, the party's third-highest position, as many Democratic officials and gay rights activists are demanding. "I have known Rick Santorum for the better part of two decades," said Pennsylvania's senior senator, Arlen Specter, a Republican, "and I can say with certainty he is not a bigot." Senate majority leader Bill Frist added on Wednesday that Santorum "is a consistent voice for inclusion and compassion in the Republican Party and in the Senate." And at the White House on Wednesday, press secretary Ari Fleischer said President Bush would not comment on Santorum's remarks because "the president typically never does comment on anything involving a Supreme Court case." When a reporter pointed out that Bush recently weighed in on a Michigan affirmative action case before the court, Fleischer said that was why he had used the word "typically." Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean on Tuesday called Bush's silence on the subject unacceptable. "The president of the United States must represent all Americans, regardless of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation," he said in a statement. "In a nation dedicated to equality under the law, everyone must be equal under the law. By refusing to stand up for gay Americans under attack by members of his own party's leadership, this president sends a message that intolerance and bigotry is acceptable. That is not acceptable."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Black trans woman África Parrilla García shot to death in Puerto Rico
April 18 2024 4:55 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene has sunk so low even Fox News can't stand her anymore
April 18 2024 4:04 PM
Single lesbians are avoided by straight women, but not straight men. Here's why.
April 18 2024 3:18 PM
The LGBTQ+ movie fan's guide to the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival
April 18 2024 2:44 PM
The federal government failed on mpox. Ritchie Torres's new bill addresses that (exclusive)
April 18 2024 1:21 PM
True
In the face of tweets and turmoil, why I left the South as a medical student
April 18 2024 7:30 AM
Trans man Tee Arnold shot to death in Florida
April 17 2024 4:41 PM
Can scientific research on the causes of homosexuality be used against LGBTQ+ people?
April 17 2024 4:02 PM