former Senator from Pennsylvania blew through Iowa to speak before
the Family Leader and take a nasty swipe at LGBT Families.
According to Mr. Santorum parenting is a
privilege, and we are not entitled to take part:
A lesbian woman came up to me and said, ‘why
are you denying me my right?’ I said, ‘well, because it’s not
a right.’ It’s a privilege that society recognizes because
society sees intrinsic value to that relationship over any other
relationship.
The narrow lens through which Mr. Santorum sees the world doesn’t
allow him to acknowledge the many shapes and sizes that comprise
today’s families. Over a quarter of the children in the United
States are being raised by single parents, not to mention
grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and neighbors.
There are 1 million LGBT parents in this country alone raising 2
million children. They are raising their children to love their
country, respect their neighbors and be valuable members of their
community. There is now more than 30 years of research on this
issue – all of which comes to the same conclusion – that
children raised by gay and lesbian parents have the same
advantages, developmental cycles and social and psychological
adjustments as children raised by straight parents. Society sees
intrinsic value in loving parents and in
familes, regardless of the once-senator’s opinions
about how they are made up.
The ex-senator’s comments happen to coincide with the recent
Every Child
Deserves a Family Act introduced in the House. In a press
briefing yesterday, Rep. Pete stark responded “Rick who?” when
asked about Mr. Santorum’s
comments:
“I think he’s crazy,” Stark said to the
Huffington Post “I don’t know where he comes up with those
ideas.”
So at a time when we are working to find families for half a
million children in foster care, Mr. Santorum would rather engage
in a debate over the definition of family.
The evidence of the capability of LGBT parents is incontrovertible.
Despite his
long
history distorting the truth, the disconnect between Mr.
Santorum and the real world could not be clearer than it is now.