To be frank, restricting passive anal sex will slow the spread of AIDS.
Posted on 04/22/2003 3:35:45 PM PDT by Brian S
Tue April 22, 2003 05:51 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania on Tuesday ignored calls that he apologize and resign from his Senate leadership post as he defended comments he made comparing homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery. "My comments should not be misconstrued in any way as a statement on individual lifestyles," Santorum said in a brief news release issued by his office.
In an interview with the Associated Press published on Monday, Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, discussed a Texas sodomy law now being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court.
"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery," Santorum was quoted as saying. "You have the right to anything."
The court is considering if the Texas law violates privacy rights and unfairly targets same-sex couples or if the state has a legitimate interest in setting moral standards.
In his statement on Tuesday, Santorum said: "When discussing the pending Supreme Court Case Lawrence v. Texas, my comments were specific to the right to privacy and the broader implications of a ruling on other state privacy laws."
"In the interview, I expressed the same concern as many constitutional scholars, and discussed arguments put forward by the State of Texas, as well as Supreme Court justices. If such a law restricting personal conduct is held unconstitutional, so could other existing state laws," Santorum said.
"My discussion ... was about the Supreme Court privacy case, the constitutional right to privacy in general, and in context of the impact on the family. I am a firm believer that all are equal under the Constitution," Santorum said.
His comments on Monday ignited a firestorm of criticism from some Democrats as well as gay rights groups, a number of whom demanded an apology.
In addition, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) called on Santorum on Tuesday to step down as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the No. 3 job in the party's leadership. A DSCC spokesman called his comments "divisive, hurtful and reckless."
"Senator Santorum has no reason to apologize," a spokesman for Santorum said, adding that the senator was ignoring as unwarranted the Democratic call to step down.
The flap comes four months after Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi was forced to step down as Senate Republican leader for racially charged remarks.
"Yet another Republican member of Congress has insulted an entire group of Americans," Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe said on Tuesday.
At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer had no comment on the matter, saying, "I have not seen the entire context of the interview" and had not discussed it with Bush.
Really? You'll forgive me if I ask for some documentation?
FYI, a good number of the posters on this thread are gay activists who argue for gay everything. It's their reason for being. You won't change their minds.
"My brand of Republicanism" is repealing laws against sodomy at the state level; there are only three states where only homosexual sodomy is outlawed. Twelve others outlaw for both heterosexuals and homosexuals.
Laws that are not enforced have no business being on the books. That's my brand of Republicanism.
Number one, it doesn't stay in the privacy of the home. Number two, this is about the right to have sex - nothing else. Do your teens have a right to go out and have sex whenever they choose? No. They don't. What about 9 year olds? Pedophelia happens in the privacy of homes and so does incest and the other things Santorum listed. An act is no less dispicable if it happens in private. Is stealing less dangerous because no one sees it. How about if the thief walks around town with a sign on his back proudly proclaiming he's a thief and should have the right to steal? How about if the thieves all pack together and form a PAC and start advocating thieves rights? Do the desires of a group necessitate that their demands or wishes be met. No. so what makes this any different. I don't want a homo hitting on me anymore than I want one drawing a child or relative of mine off into that sinful and destructive lifestyle. I have lost a stepbrother to it.
If this is such destructive behavior, why have over 40 states repealed laws against sodomy?
What did you do to stop it?
Was he?
Why couldn't the Supreme Court limit the sexual activity to consensual, unmarried, monogamous adults? If it did that, all the other horrors Santorum mentioned would still be outlawed.
Like who?
If you click on their names and follow their comments you can probably tell.
Really? Where do you hang where you see gays regularly having sex in public?
Number two, this is about the right to have sex - nothing else
It is about the right of two, consenting, monogamous, adults to have sex. All the other things you mention don't meet that criteria. The act of stealing involves harm to a non-consenting party.
An act is no less dispicable if it happens in private.
Would you stop me from getting drunk in my own home?
What did you do to stop it?
Nothing. Two Texas cops stupidly arrested these guys in a set-up, and the Supreme Court took this case precisely because it is going to overturn the 1986 Bowers decision.
I have noticed the homosexual lobby likes to direct the discussion of sodomy laws towards "privacy of a home". Now, the sodomy laws do not specifically target sodomy that is being practiced at home. I am not all that keen on sodomy laws, but whatever the law says about sodomy, it should IMHO apply equally at home and outside of it.
There are no federal laws against sodomy. Only state laws.
Should sodomy laws apply to heterosexuals as well?
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