Romney Signs Controversial Pledge

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Same-sex marriage is in the GOP’s crosshairs in a big way. Mitt Romney is the latest Republican presidential candidate to sign the controversial pledge from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) that seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage on the federal level. Romney follows fellow presidential contenders Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum in signing the pledge, which has been amended from the original version, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Interestingly, Romney refused to sign the pledge when it was first introduced by the anti-gay organization, calling it “undignified and inappropriate.” The pledge, which Bachmann was the first to sign (we wrote about it on G Philly), originally suggested that African-American children were better off during slavery and calls gay men a serious public health risk. Romney wouldn’t sign that pledge, but he’s okay with the other points about banning gay marriage, pornography and certain Islamic religious beliefs – something that goes directly against the freedom of religion in this country.

Speaking of religious freedom, ironically enough, folks who signed the most recent pledge – created by outspoken evangelical conservative Bob Vander Plaats – also promised that, if elected, they would create a president commission on religious liberty that would follow up on any harassment for supporting gay marriage bans. The commission would even offer “protections” for people who support marriage between a man and a woman, and who donate to anti-gay groups like NOM. Is this really necessary? A commission to support people who want to discriminate? That’s akin to creating a commission to protect white supremacists. The freedom of speech (even for those who may go against everything we believe in) is already guaranteed in this country. If anything, the commission would simply be used as a ploy to legitimize the argument against same-sex marriage and gay rights.

So why the commission and why the pledge?

“We believe that the candidates’ positions on core values, such as marriage, correlate directly to his/her moral stances on energy issues, sound budgeting policies, national defense and economic policies,” says Plaats.

We agree. Because anyone who would sign a pledge that discriminates against black people and gay people are likely to be off our moral map when it comes to other important issues that will come to a head at the polls next year. At a time when the national debt and employment are key issues, it’s hard to believe that these candidates are spending so much time on religion – an issue that does not have any place in politics and government anyway.

Here’s exactly what Romney promised:

-To back an anti-gay marriage amendment and defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court

-Appoint anti-gay marriage judges

-Reconsider gay marriage (which is legal) in Washington, D.C., the city estimated to have the most gay and lesbian couples in the nation

-Ban Islamic law

-Appoint a commission to investigate harassment…of homophobes

-Treat women as “innocent fruit” (we’re not kidding)

Seriously, Mitt?