Romney's '94 remarks on same-sex marriage could haunt him
Comments Governor Mitt Romney made during his 1994 Senate bid, in which he said the gay and lesbian community "needs more support from the Republican Party," resurfaced yesterday, posing a potential hurdle as he appeals to conservatives for a probable presidential campaign.
Bay Windows, the Boston-based gay and lesbian newspaper, republished excerpts from an August 1994 interview the paper did with Romney during his campaign against Senator Edward M. Kennedy. In the interview, Romney said it should be up to states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage and he criticized Republican "extremists" who imposed their positions on the party.
"People of integrity don't force their beliefs on others, they make sure that others can live by different beliefs they may have," Romney is quoted as saying.
More recently, Romney's words and deeds have sent a very different message.
In 2005, Romney came under fire for saying dismissively to a South Carolina Republican audience that some gay and lesbian couples "are actually having children born to them."
Romney has been an outspoken proponent of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Last spring, he wrote a letter to Senate majority leader Bill Frist urging its passage.
"In order to protect the institution of marriage, we must prevent it from being redefined by judges like those here in Massachusetts," Romney wrote of the amendment, which has not passed. Same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts after a 2003 decision by the Supreme Judicial Court.
One of several Republicans to oppose the federal amendment was Arizona Senator John McCain, who is likely to be one of Romney's chief rivals in 2008. Romney, in an interview last month with the DC Examiner, accused McCain of being "disingenuous" on same-sex marriage, because McCain says he's against it but believes states should decide the issue.
In Massachusetts, Romney has been one of the most aggressive backers of a proposed gay-marriage ban aimed for the 2008 ballot. He filed a suit with the SJC last month to force it onto the ballot.
Asked about Romney's remarks in 1994, his communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said in an e-mail statement: "Governor Romney believes Americans should be respectful of all people. What he opposes are the efforts by activist judges who seek to redefine the longstanding institution of marriage being between a man and a woman."
Romney did express opposition to gay marriage in the 1994 interview, but his overall tone then was notably different from his tone today.
In the interview, Romney was quoted saying that when Kennedy speaks on gay rights, he's viewed as a liberal "extremist." But Romney said when he speaks about gay rights he's seen as "a centrist and a moderate."
Romney's softer tone on gay and lesbian issues in the past could be a problem among hard-core social conservatives in the key primary state of New Hampshire, said Daniel Itse of Fremont, N.H., a state representative and activist against same-sex marriage.
"The question is, how trustworthy is [Romney] in the long term, especially if you have other candidates who have been stalwarts on the issue all along?" Itse said.
Romney stands to face national media scrutiny of his positions on gay and lesbian issues. The NBC show "Meet the Press" has sought information about what Romney has said about those issues, Bay Windows said.
Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com. 