Massachusetts
governor Mitt Romney's beliefs on gay issues are under
scrutiny after the reemergence of a letter he wrote during
his 1994 run for U.S. Senate in which he promised a
gay Republican group he would be a stronger advocate
for gays than Sen. Edward Kennedy. Romney's views in
the letter contrast with recent statements by the
Massachusetts governor, who has emphasized his
opposition to same-sex marriage as he positions
himself as a committed conservative in preparation for an
expected 2008 run for the Republican presidential nomination.
The 1994 letter was written to the Log Cabin
Club of Massachusetts, a gay Republican group, when
Romney was courting gay voters during his unsuccessful
campaign against Kennedy. Citing Kennedy's record of
advocacy for gays and lesbians, Romney wrote, ''For some
voters, it might be enough to simply match my
opponent's record in this area. But I believe we can
and must do better. If we are to achieve the goals we
share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a
mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can
and will.''
A gay-oriented Massachusetts newspaper, Bay
Windows, has also released a transcript of a 1994
interview with Romney during the Senate race in which
he pledged strong advocacy for the gay community. ''I
think the gay community needs more support from the
Republican Party, and I would be a voice in the Republican
Party to foster antidiscrimination efforts,'' Romney
said, according to the transcript.
During the same interview, Romney said he
opposed then-U.S. senator Jesse Helms's
legislative amendment to ban federal funding for public
schools that support homosexuality as a "lifestyle
alternative." ''I don't think the federal government
has any business dictating to local school boards what
their curriculum or practices should be,'' Romney
said, according to the transcript. ''I think that's a
dangerous precedent in general. I would have opposed
that. It also grossly misunderstands the gay community
by insinuating that there's an attempt to proselytize a gay
lifestyle on the part of the gay community.''
In the Log Cabin Club letter, Romney also said
he supported President Clinton's ''don't ask, don't
tell'' policy regarding gays serving in the armed
forces, describing it as ''the first in a number of steps
that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being
able to serve openly and honestly in our nation's military.''
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative
Family Research Council, said Romney's comments were
''quite disturbing.'' ''This is going to create a lot
of problems for Governor Romney,'' he told The New
York Times in Saturday's editions. ''He is going to
have a hard time overcoming this.''
Noted conservative Paul Weyrich told the
Times, ''Unless he comes out with an abject
repudiation of this, I think it makes him out to be a hypocrite.''
Romney was wrapping up a weeklong trip to Asia
on Saturday and could not be reached for comment. In
an e-mailed statement, Romney spokesman Eric
Fehrnstrom said that as governor Romney has never advocated
changing the military's policy toward gays and has
consistently supported traditional values.
Romney recently became a plaintiff in a lawsuit
to force the state legislature to vote on a
constitutional amendment that would reverse the
state's landmark 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex
marriage. State lawmakers have refused to vote on the
amendment, a strategy that could
effectively kill the measure.
''As governor, Mitt Romney has been a champion
of traditional marriage,'' Fehrnstrom said in his
statement. ''He's fought the efforts of activist
judges who seek to redefine marriage, and he's testified
before the U.S. Senate in support of the Federal
Marriage Amendment. Governor Romney has been a leader
in protecting marriage and in focusing this debate on the
needs of children.''
Arline Isaacson, cochair of the Massachusetts
Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, said she cautioned
gays and lesbians against believing Romney's overtures
in 1994, adding that conservatives shouldn't trust him
either. ''He can't be trusted,'' she said. ''Because
if it is politically expedient for him to swing to his
right or swing to his left, he will do it.'' (David
Weber, AP)
