I slammed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for this yesterday, so I suppose I should do the same with the Republicans: John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani have all refused to give a straight response on whether or not homosexuality should be considered immoral. Romney and Giuliani, who have a history of supporting the gay community, actually come off as pretty good guys, though, and I think their relatively nuanced answers are worth evaluating in full. Each candidate’s response taken from this Politico article…
McCain:
“The senator thinks such questions are a matter of conscience and faith for people to decide for themselves. As a public official, Senator McCain supports don’t ask, don’t tell.” –McCain spokesman Danny Diaz. Per the AP, McCain was asked about the matter on the campaign trail in Iowa yesterday and declined to answer.
Romney, who once was a strong supporter of gay rights:
“I think General Pace has said that he regrets having said that, and I think he was wise to have issued an apology, or a withdrawal of that comment. I think that we, as a society, welcome people of all differences, whether there are differences in ethnicity, faith or sexual preference, and I think he was wise to correct his comment and to suggest that that was an inappropriate point to have made.”
Giuliani, who supported civil unions as mayor of New York:
“We should be tolerant, fair, open, and we should understand the rights that all people have in our society.”
Sam Brownback, who is crazy:
Sen. Sam Brownback… not only affirmed his view that homosexuality is immoral but sent a letter of support on behalf of Pace to the White House.
