Amidst discussion of the U.S. economy, foreign policy and the purported failings of President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidates touched upon several key LGBT issues during last night’s campaign debate in New Hampshire. Prominent among these were questions surrounding the legalization of gay marriage and the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ both of which wer contested by a majority of the GOP contenders.
ThinkProgress reports that most of the Republican candidates identify themselves as ‘Bush Republicans’ when it comes to marriage – that is, staunch supporters of a federal amendment outlawing marriage between same-sex couples. While Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum all stood by this position, Herman Cain and Ron Paul opted for a more hands-off stance and suggested that marriage should be left up to state governments. Meanwhile, newly-announced candidate Michelle Bachmann tried to play the line between her competitors by noting that, while she supports the federal amendment against gay marriage, she would not zero in on individual states to overturn their marriage laws.
All seven candidates present at last night’s debate found some degree of common ground by way of DADT – the measure banning gay and lesbian individuals from serving openly in the military that has finally reached the last stages of repeal preparation, only to encounter reinstatement arguments from nearly all of the 2012 GOP hopefuls. Despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ statement yesterday expressing optimism regarding implementation of the DADT repeal, both Bachmann and Gingrich came right out to say that they would reinstate the measure. Santorum added that the military is “not for social experimentation,” while Mitt Romney said he would have waited until military conflicts were concluded before repealing DADT. Tim Pawlenty stood alone when he noted that, as a nation involved in two wars, the U.S. should “pay deference to our military commanders” when it comes to such decision making; however, he was also the first presidential candidate to make reinstatement of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ a part of his campaign platform.
For more on the GOP candidates’ opinions on gay marriage and DADT, watch the live debate coverage below:
