Photos
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he is concerned about legalized gay marriage spilling over into lessons in the classroom, during a campaign stop in Cedar Falls, IA on Friday.
The former senator from Pennsylvania said when same sex marriages were legally accepted - Iowa legalized gay marriage in 2009 - gay relationships would also be taught about in schools in ways parents against homosexuality wouldn't want their children exposed to.
It could be when students read about their families or when health classes talked about sexuality, he said.
"One of the impacts of same sex marriage is the normalization and inoculation of normalization of same-sex values," he said.
Santorum addressed a crowd of more than 100, mostly students mixed with some community members, in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center lobby at the University of Northern Iowa today.
Santorum's stances against gay marriage have been a consistent part of his platform as a religious conservative.
Santorum invoked God extensively in remarks during his appearance.
"The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob gave us rights. And not just rights but responsibility," he said.
A pamphlet printed with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution sat on each chair, both of which he quoted from in his speech.
He referred to God's presence in the lives of America's founding fathers and said that presence helped shape the country's roots. He lamented what he described as a loss of understanding of God-centered morality that he said has led to America's current struggles.
But he said some people in America see the country differently than he does.
He would like to see education decisions come from the local level rather than the federal government.
"Education has been, since the industrial revolution, very top down," he said. "One hundred years ago schools were basically run by parents and communities. Now, the government needs to get in as soon as it can to influence the educational lives of children."
While he did not go so far as some other candidates who have said the U.S. Department of Education should be eliminated, he said he would eliminate federal mandates and funding for education and return all power to the states.
"President Obama doesn't know the names of your children. How dare we say he knows what's best for them?" he said.
The event was part of UNI's Presidential Candidate Education Forum, "Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities in Education," co-hosted by Iowa Public Radio. Santorum is the second candidate to attend the forum, following Michele Bachmann's Nov. 30 visit.
Santorum spoke for about 30 minutes before taking audience questions.
Dawn Ask Martin, of Cedar Falls, asked how he would fix No Child Left Behind, the federal education reform bill passed during the Bush administration.
"As someone who voted for No Child Left Behind, somewhat reluctantly, I repent before you," Santorum said. "I would repeal No Child Left Behind. I would repeal the funding and the mandates."
Ben Kieffer, host of Iowa Public Radio's The Exchange, moderated the forum, which will be broadcast Dec. 12. at 2 p.m.
Santorum, who picked up a key political endorsement Friday morning from Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz, was named the first choice of six percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers in a Dec. 3 Des Moines Register poll. He has gotten little media attention or speaking time at debates. However, he has spent extensive time in Iowa and is reportedly the only Republican candidate to have visited every one of the state's 99 counties.
Many audience members said they were there to learn more about the candidate before they decided who to caucus for.
"We want to know what he had to say. We haven't heard much about him and his views," said Bob Hall, of Cedar Falls. He and his wife, Jean Hall, said they were former school teachers, so candidates' education policies were important to them. Both declined to give their age.
Erik Murray, 22, a UNI senior, said he already knew a little about Santorum's platform, but always likes to hear from candidates in person before making up his mind.
"I just like to see all the candidates," he said. "I just want to hear his general outlook."
Earlier today, Santorum hosted a town hall-style meeting at Ferrari's restaurant in the Pipac Centre.
Judd Saul, who helped organize that event, said about 20 people attended.
In This article
-
Ferrari's Ristorante
1521 Technology Pky, Cedar Falls, IA -
Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
8392 University Ave, Cedar Falls, IA -
-
University of Northern Iowa
1227 W 27th St, Cedar Falls, IA
Bill Jones
3:53 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Gay relationships are ALREADY legal, you morons.
Joseph A. Mustich
6:16 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Onward to full civil and marriage equality rights now. Period.
Cheers, Joe Mustich, CT USA, Marriage Officiant & Justice of the Peace.
And just feed the naysayers to the lions...
Joseph A. Mustich
6:17 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
PS: RS is so obsessed with the LGBT community, this dude must be a closet case.
Get over it Ricky....
Stephen King
7:29 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Any kind of marriage is not taught in school. Where the hell has he been? And since, the NCLB was an unfunded mandate why should any state follow it in the first place?. No federal funding for state education = no federal voice or mandates in my view. Considering the track record of congress I hardly think they are the role model for educational leadership.
Piper
7:42 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Rick has something there those in Washington haven't thought about because they just are not aware.. Children play getting married on the playgrounds I remember my daughter telling me when she was in 5th grade. They also play getting a divorce so taught or not if they see it they will make a game of it. I can just imagine the problems this is gonna cause in the future.
Jeffrey Johnson
6:37 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Piper, below, is nonsensical. He would bring down this great country with his divisiveness and harm many children with his lies and rampant hate. Now go drink your cool aid.
Tony Garcia
5:34 pm on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Well said Stephen I fully agree. As for ms piper I don't EVER recall any child where I worked at 'getting divorced' , wherever you are leave now as it will affect your kids NEGATIVELY !!
Schmice
7:36 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
This is a tabloid issue and that is all he has to run on. He'll keep going though because in the end, he will get a radio show out of this. He'll get his speaker fees and everything else that goes along with once having been a minor celebrity. In the end, however, he will have to realize that he's been cast aside in the ash heaps of history because he became irrelevant and nonsensical. On the other hand, it beats staying home, I suppose.
Nan Hahn
7:32 am on Monday, December 12, 2011
Santorum is ALREADY irrelevant and in the ash heaps of history. Remember, he's a FORMER Senator - his PA constituentes virtually ran him out of DC on a rail. He lost his re-election bid by a landslide! I cannot believe there are people who actually think he's qualified to be president!!
Joey Tranchina
11:20 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Bigotry has along tradition in America.
It will go on as long as there is a market for it.
Attempting to deny citizens rights in the name of religion,
also has a long history, which also looks ugly, in retrospect.
Before the Civil War, about 900 books were published,
with the myriad biblical justifications in defense of slavery.
Those arguments failed to advance the cause of Christianity,
while they helped clear the way, for the slaughter of a million Americans.
Turn away from those who would build majorities by dividing us.
Divided we fall.
Jeffrey Johnson
6:31 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
So true, Joey! I had to post your comment on FB. I gave you credit and linked back here, too. Thanks for your insight.
Philip Chandler
10:20 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thank you, Joey, for pointing out the role that bigotry has played in maintaining cruel and oppressive laws. Fortunately, our US Supreme Court has issued two important rulings pertaining to the recognition of due process and equal protection rights for gay Americans (I refer to Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996) and Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)). In the latter ruling, Justice Kennedy (who authored the opinion for the majority) wrote as follows: "Had those who drew and ratified the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth Amendment or the Fourteenth Amendment known the components of liberty in its manifold possibilities, they might have been more specific. They did not presume to have this insight. They knew times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom."
These represent true words of wisdom, which Republican troglodytes would do well to heed......
PHILIP CHANDLER
David in Houston
4:31 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
"One of the impacts of same sex marriage is the normalization and inoculation of normalization of same-sex values," he said.
Same-sex values? Well let's see... gay couples want to get married, just like straight couples. So I'm guessing those values would be: a monogamous, long-term relationship based on love and commitment. Ooh, how shocking!
Santorum's basic argument is that if you treat gay Americans as equal members of society then you'll have to tell children that gay Americans are equal members of society. Part of being an American is tolerating people that are different than you. Just because you've chosen to be religious does not mean that everyone else has to believe or follow your ideology. We're a secular society, not a Christian theocracy. A simple concept that Rick doesn't seem to understand.
Schmice
8:19 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
(Applause!!!)
Piper
6:03 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
This is wickedness!” It all boils down to caring. Christians who love the Lord Jesus will care, and will speak out against sin and evil that threaten our children, our society and our freedoms. Sin always undermines any nation. America it seems has gone to hell. When it comes to marriage....... And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Matthew 19:5
Schmice
8:25 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
It depends on the translation and whether you consider the King James version to be the definitive word from Up On High spoken in 17th century English. Other older translations might suggest that the term "spouse" is more accurate than wife
Karen Silver
10:16 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
God does not hate so why do you if you are, as you pretend to be, a Christian? You need to check out whether you are actually a Christian or not. It doesn't read that you are. I can imagine Jesus crying out from the cross "Get me down off this thing. I don't want Piper blamed on me."
Philip Chandler
10:30 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Wickedness? You consider values such as equal protection (a core value embedded in both state constitutions and the US Constitution (in the latter, refer to the Fourteenth Amendment)) and due process of law to be "wickedness?" I guess that you and I have very different ideas as to what constitutes "wickedness" -- personally, I consider attempts to divide the American people and to demonize those of us who believe in such constitutional values to constitute "wickedness" in one of its most disgusting and embarrassing forms.
I am deeply thankful for the fact that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits religious meddling in affairs of state....
PHILIP CHANDLER
Karen Silver
11:21 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
Piper, stop hissing at people who are trying to carve out decent and happy lives without your burdens of hatred and fear -- hatred and fear usually bred in the very desire to do the things you despise others for doing. A gay person loving another gay person is not your concern. Your concern is giving to food pantries, feeding the hungry, visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes and generally adding to the lives around you.Get a life, woman.
Jeffrey Johnson
6:23 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Piper, God put his beloved gay people here to out haters that burn in their own hate forever. Your's is the sin of judgement and ignorance and God doesn't like that too much. Jeffrey 12:10
Piper
1:38 pm on Saturday, December 10, 2011
God is Holy he hates all sin, he already has judged guys having sex with guys, it's in the Bible. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour you become a changed being you live your life for Christ you do your best to give up sinning. God already has told us what sin is. We are to love our brother meaning do them right. It's right not to want anyone to be cast into hell. You can't follow the world and Christ too it can't be done. And you sure can't make up laws too please yourself and over look God's law. The laws of this world can get a lot of us in trouble and no one's gonna be perfect. God knows we're not but I'm thankful He sent Jesus to save us from our sin. He loves all of us, we should love him back I think and do what's right or at least try. Gay marriage isn't the only thing they've made it pretty easy for someone to get divorced too and it's not right not unless you're cheated on. I could go down the list.... Peace
Tamara
9:54 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Amen Jeffrey!!
Schmice
11:39 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
X 2.
Philip Chandler
10:14 am on Saturday, December 10, 2011
How absolutely typical. Another Republican blowhard who believes that he has a lock on morality now objects to the fact that school children will be "exposed" to the realities of the world around them -- more specifically, the reality that some gay couples in this country are legally married in those states which recognize gay marriage (and the number of such states increases with each passing year). Only a retrograde, morally obtuse Republican could come up with such objections -- it is rather like watching a night-owl object to the fact that children will be exposed to the fact that the sun rises in the mornings...
When will Santorum and his ilk understand that the laws by which we live are not derived from Biblical or other religious teachings, but are instead a reflection of the values which Americans hold dear -- including such values as the equal protection of the laws (embedded in the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, and embedded in all state constitutions) and due process of law (similarly embedded in same documents)? What does Santorum not understand about this country? The differences between us are what make us a great nation, and the recognition of our equality is what makes other nations look up to and respect America (although this respect has slipped badly in recent times, for obvious reasons associated with the legalization of torture, holding people without trial, etc.)?
Shame on Santorum!
PHILIP CHANDLER
Kathy Caruso
11:01 pm on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Can I say 'Thank God' to the open minds that defend our constitution, and my right to thank God publicly, or not.
harold gordon
9:21 am on Sunday, December 11, 2011
before Santorum gets to control other peoples lives, he should learn to control himself and stop having more children ! The country cannot afford them when Rick loses his ability to make money off the backs of those he despairs.
tj
6:06 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
You do not have the right to force your religion on others. You do not have the right to discriminate against those who do not practice your religion. To discriminate against someone for not practicing your religion is religious discrimination.
Karen Silver
11:18 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
People who obsess about homosexuality are often either afraid of it or sorely tempted by it. Healthy people have more important things on their minds.
shanewilson
3:28 am on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
same sex marriage is a reta issue here..ANd just recently this has been a trending issue for the presidency candidates.On the campaign trail Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney met some head-on problems from a Vietnam veteran. The hopeful -- previously the governor of Massachusetts -- met resistance over his stance on gay matrimony at a restaurant in Manchester, N.H.. It will be interesting to see how this affects Romney’s campaign. http://www.newsytype.com/
Joy O'Neill
6:06 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
Impressive and thoughtful comments from all. I am inspired from the bottom of my heart with the brilliant rebuttal of Santorum's folly. I find myself embarrassed for him, and so proud of the rest of my fellow man...All inclusive. Thank you for stating more clearly than I ever could. J. O'Neill
Philip Chandler
1:56 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011
What sickens me about the Republican slate is the sheer hypocrisy underlying many of their rantings. Newt Gingrich likes to talk about the importance of heterosexual marriage and supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage -- this is a man who served his second wife with divorce papers as she lay recovering from ovarian cancer surgery; furthermore, he was conducting an adulterous relationship with the woman who would become his third wife at that time. Mitt Romney was a gay rights supporter for many years, and firmly supported civil unions for gay couples; now, in the interests of expedience, he has performed an about face (and calls this "changing his mind"). Watching these buffoons is like watching pit vipers attacking each other. Truly, we are in a sad state if men like this claim to speak for the rest of us...
PHILIP CHANDLER