Romney dodges question about homosexual adoption in CNN interview
In response to a question by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about whether he thought it was “good” that homosexuals are able to adopt children during an intervi
Image via Wikipediaew last week, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney repeatedly dodged the question, responding only, “I’m not going to change that.”
Romney has previously said that homosexuals have a “legitimate interest” in adoptions. During the CNN interview, he also said that he believes homosexual adoption should be decided on a state-by-state basis.
As the interview progressed, Romney expressed his belief that “marriage” should be a term reserved for men and women, but added that if people “enter into contracts with one another that are between same-sex individuals, they’re free to do so.”
“Look, if two people of the same gender want to live together and enter into a contract with each other, so be it,” he continued. “But don’t pretend that it’s marriage. And society, as a whole, will benefit by having its children, on the average, raised by moms and dads.”
Romney’s responses were consistent with responses that he has made to similar questions in the past. On February 18, 2007, in response to a question about homosexual adoption, Romney toldABC’s “This Week,” “My view is that the right model for the nation and the right standard for the natio
Image via Wikipedian is marriage is between a man and a woman and a child deserves a mom and a dad.” However, he said that the decision about whether to allow homosexual adoption is “made by state-by-state.”
In that interview he also said drew a distinction between the “legal recognition” of same-sex unions, and the right of same-sex individuals to enter into contractual agreements with one another.
“They can enter into a contract and have contractual relationships with one another,” Romney said. “But that doesn’t require a sanction by the state and so that’s a decision each state would have to make. I wouldn’t seek to impose, at the national level, a prohibition on contractual relationships between two people.”
In a March 17, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article, Romney reportedly said that while homosexual adoption “is assessed on a state-by-state basis,” he believes “adoption agencies should be able to favor traditional couples.”
Last week, Romney in Hopkinton, New Hampshire said that marriage is a “relationship between one man and one woman.”
Image via Wikipedia“We’re going to call marriage what it’s been called for 6,000 years or longer: A relationship between one man and one woman,” Romney said according to CNSNews.com. “That’s my own view and there are alternative views.”
When a follow-up question confronted Romney on homosexual civil unions, Romney suggested that he is in favor of some form of a “partnership agreement” for same-sex couples.
Romney has signed a National Organization for Marriage pledge to defend traditional marriage if elected president.
In 2005, then-Governor Romney promoted a marriage amendment, the Travaglini-Lees amendment, with a civil unions provision, saying t
hat he supported civil homosexual unions “if gay marriage is the alternative.” After the amendment failed, Romney forced the Massachusetts state legislature to allow an ultimately unsuccessful VoteOnMarriage initiative, which reaffirmed traditional marriage but said nothing about prohibiting civil unions and domestic partnerships, to be placed on the ballot for 2008, after legislators attempted to stop it by a procedural move.
