Mayor
Street Reacts to Santorum Comments
KYW-TV
(Philadelphia), April 23, 2003
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is defending some
controversial comments that seemed to some to equate homosexuality with bigamy
and incest. On Wednesday, the senator said he was just stating the law of the
land. Nevertheless, he faces growing pressure to resign his Senate leadership
post.
Senator Rick Santorum, speaking at a town meeting in
Williamsport, was confronted by a man who described himself as “a proud, gay
Pennsylvanian.”
“How can you compare my sexuality and what I do in the
privacy of my home to bigamy or incest?” the man asked the senator.
Senator Santorum had been quoted as lumping together
incest, bigamy, polygamy and a gay lifestyle, while discussing a case the
Supreme Court is reviewing.
The Associated Press says he also told its reporter, he
has “no problem with homosexuality—I have a problem with homosexual
acts.” The controversy is drawing sharp responses from some Pennsylvania
voters.
“I can’t believe he would possibly make a comparison
of someone’s lifestyle to incest,” April Fay of Glenside told Eyewitness
News Reporter Dick Standish.
Celia Jay of Germantown said, “I just thought it was a
dumb thing to say, especially publicly.”
Mayor Street, who was opposed by many gay leaders when he
ran for office, is supporting the gay community and attacked the senator.
“Senator Santorum’s comments were insensitive and
offensive to a lot of people and I feel, frankly speaking, he ought to find a
way to clean it up,” Street said.
Sam Katz, the Republican candidate for mayor was out of
town but released a statement saying Santorum’s remarks fuel prejudice and
promote misunderstanding.
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