Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Romney Speaks 

Gov. Romney's office has published the written version of his statement to the U.S. Judiciary Committee today, on the prospect of a Federal Marriage Amendment.

Same old stuff. Leaps of illogic. Unsubstantiated conclusions. Unanswered questions that invite the reader to come to a conclusion that could not be supported if it were presented as a statement. Outright misstatements regarding separation of church and state. Couched in a pleasant buffer of stated anti-bigotry. He doesn't hate gay men and lesbians, he wants to protect our individual rights, but our relationships just don't have the same value as those of heterosexual couples, and marriage isn't an individual right since it is entered into by two persons.

But this is the statement that strikes me most strongly:

"Of course, even today, circumstances can take a parent from the home, but the child still has a mother and a father. If the parents are divorced, the child can visit each of them. If a mother or father is deceased, the child can learn about the qualities of the departed. His or her psychological development can still be influenced by the contrasting features of both genders."

At least he's now said it. He feels a child of opposite sex but divorced parents, or a child in a single parent home due to the death of the opposite sex parent, is better off than a child of a stable, caring same-sex couple.

Boston.com and 365Gay.com have more information about the committee hearings. The Committee's web page for the hearing is here. According to the conservative site HumanEventsOnline, Gov. Romney followed his testimony by stating personally during an interview his opinion that John Kerry should resign his Senate seat due to the time pressures of his campaign.

*********UPDATE*******
The text of the statements Gov. Romney actually made before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is posted on the Committee's website. It is quite a change from the written statement posted by the governor's office (see above). I've got to examine and compare these two versions more thoroughly, but even at first glance it's an interesting contrast.

|
Posted by Rogueslayer at 2:13 PM