Santorum Says He's Barely Mentioned Gay Rights

Rick Santorum says he's been remaining mostly mum on the subject of marriage equality during his time on the campaign trail.

Fox News's Bill O'Reilly asked Santorum how he would entice voters despite his views being more conservative -- and even extreme -- compared with those of most voters, especially on issues like gays in the military, marriage equality, and contraception.

Santorum, who finished a close second in the Iowa caucus this week behind Mitt Romney, said he hasn't been harping on these issues on the trail, including his stance to restrict LGBT rights.

"As you know, Bill, if you've been following me out on the trail, I haven't been talking a lot about this, although I strongly believe in it," Santorum said Wednesday night. "What I've been talking about as I did last night on my acceptance speech -- where I didn't talk about this issue -- I talked about the importance of getting this economy going and talked about my grandfather and coming here for freedom. And this is the fundamental issue in this campaign is whether government is going to be big and obtrusive and telling people how to manage their -- their lives or -- and are they going to support the basic values of faith and family that allow government to be limited and allow our economy to be strong."

According to Think Progress, Santorum has not mentioned LGBT issues in any of his 350 town hall meetings in Iowa. Still, campaigning includes quick stops, speeches, and television interviews. In the past year, Santorum has had a few key quotes on gay rights, especially marriage equality:

- At a meeting with voters in a grocery store, Santorum held up a napkin and said, "I can call this napkin a paper towel. But it is a napkin. And why? Because it is what it is. Right? You can call it whatever you want, but it doesn't change the character of what it is. ... So when people come out and say that marriage is something else -- marriage is the marriage of five people, five, 10, 20. Marriage can be between fathers and daughters. Marriage can be between any two people, any four people, any 10 people, it can be any kind of relationship and we can call it marriage. But it doesn't make it marriage. Why? Because there are certain qualities and certain things that attach to the definition of what marriage is."

- Santorum reiterated his belief that a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality is necessary in June when he said, "It's not that we're against anybody. People can live the life they want to live. They can do whatever they want to do in the privacy of their home with respect to that activity. ... Now you're talking about changing the laws of the country. And it's going to have a profound impact on society, on faith, on education. Once people realize that, they say, you know what, we respect people's right to live the life they want to lead, but don't try to fundamentally change how society functions by changing that definition."

- Following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's historic address on international gay rights, Santorum and fellow candidate Rick Perry blasted the Obama administration's decision to use foreign aid to help LGBT people around the world. Santorum said, "I would suggest that we give out humanitarian aid based on humanitarian need, not based on whether people are promoting their particular agenda. Obviously the administration is promoting their particular agenda in this country, and now they feel it's their obligation to promote those values not just in the military, not just in our society, but now around the world with taxpayer dollars." He added that Obama "said he's for traditional marriage, and now he's promoting gay lifestyles and gay rights, and he's fighting against traditional marriage within the courts, and I think he needs to be honest."

- While Santorum said he would welcome LGBT supporters and that he "has nothing against gays," he objected to those who are trying to "change the laws of this country with respect to what the definition of marriage is."

- In August, Santorum said that gay activists have launched a "jihad" against him because of his stance against marriage equality.

- During a June appearance in Iowa, Santorum said progressives embrace marriage equality as an attack on religion. "The reason the Left has gone after same-sex marriage is because it's a two-fer. When you redefine marriage, you cheapen marriage. You make it into something less valuable, less special ... [and] it is a sure bet that will undermine faith."

- On adoption by gay couples, Santorum said, "The state is not doing a service to the child and to society by not putting that child in a home where there is a mother and a father. This is common sense. This is nature."

- Days ago, Santorum said he would invalidate marriages for same-sex couples who have legally wed under state laws, after instituting a constitutional amendment defining marriage only for heterosexual couples. "Marriage has to be one thing for everybody. We can't have 50 different marriage laws in this country, you have to have one marriage law. ... I think if the Constitution says 'marriage is this,' then people whose marriage is not consistent with the Constitution ... I'd love to think there's another way of doing it."