Perry stresses opposition to gay marriage

DENVER - Potential Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry of Texas repeated his personal opposition to gay marriage in a speech to conservatives in Denver Friday.

But Perry didn't backtrack on his statement last week in Aspen that New York's recent decision to allow gay marriage is "their business." That's despite a direct attack earlier in the evening from a rival GOP presidential hopeful, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who took Perry to task for the comment.

"There are some in our party who say, `Well, if someone in New York wants to have gay marriage, that's fine with me.' ... States do not have the right to destroy the American family," Santorum said to applause from many of the 1,000 conservatives gathered at the Western Conservative Summit.

Perry, who spoke after Santorum, simply told the crowd that the traditional definition of marriage "suits Texas and this governor just fine."

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He repeated his advocacy for states' rights. "Washington needs a refresher course on the 10th Amendment," Perry said.

Last week Perry told a Republican crowd gathered for as fundraiser for the Republican Governor's Association that he was an "unapologetic social conservative" but didn't mind the New York decision.

"That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me," he said.

On Friday, Perry spent more time talking about the debt ceiling debate going on in Congress, blasting Congress for the showdown without naming names.

"They're so addicted to the spending, they spend their time debating raising the debt ceiling instead of making cuts," Perry said. He also blasted the Obama administration, saying they have a "mix of arrogance and audacity" that threatens the nation.

Perry accused the president of resenting Texas' best-in-the-nation jobs numbers.

"I think it causes them great consternation that we're being as successful as we are," he said.

Perry has not declared his candidacy but is widely expected to join the presidential race.

The event raised money for a right-leaning think-tank in suburban Denver, the Centennial Institute. Attendees paid between $80 and $250 a plate for the dinner, part of an annual weekend of conservative speeches. A third possible Republican presidential candidate, Georgia businessman Herman Cain, planned to address the summit Sunday.

[Farver4girls]

How can Perry support a Constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman yet think it's ok for New York to have gay marriage?
A Constitutional amendment would ban gay marriage in all 50 states if passed.

What Perry says doesn't make sense.

[magnumdr]

Why should two men or two women have the right to get married. There can never be a family the natural way, so this marrige is not a natural thing to do. If these people are to have the "right" to get married it should be a differant type of marrige. It should stste on the cirtifacate of marrige that it is a gay connection and not a "marrige" because it is not a real marrige!

[Farver4girls]

Keep this bigot out of office.

[pbaird2]

I am glad Rick Perry is in the race; now, the nation will will more deeply review his record and expose the graft and egomaniacal type of leadership in Texas. Sweet-heart deals that have saddled the state's agencies with inept and costly contracts, invasion of personal liberties and personal wealth obtained at taxpayer expense. We are paying a friend of his $10K/mo for a house while the governor's mansion is rebuilt; we could have built an alternate mansion for the state's governors at less cost. What out, folks, this man is more dangerous the George W ever was.

[retiredgustav]

He was offered a doublewide that could have been parked in a government parking lot across from the capitol. I guess he thought he was too go for that.

[gotyourheadinthesand]

Amazing how the repubs love to say they are for smaller government and the government needs to stay out of our lives. Palin had a serious issue with the first lady promoting the education of parents and children on living healthy, how dare the government try to provide useful information. But the repubs think they have every right to tell people who they can love and marry, and what they can or can't do with their bodies. Funny how they think it is okay to tell a woman she cannot have an abortion, but they are unwilling to help her and say she is lazy when she asks for financial assistance to feed and cloth that child after it is born and she has no income to support them, starvation and child abuse good, abortion bad. With regard to gay marriage, how does that destroy the American family? I am sure there is PLENTY going on in "normal" families that is destroying the American family. Parents ignoring their kids (too much effort to actually parent), divorced parents, parents that fight all the time in front of the kids, child abuse, etc... and this is better than the kids knowing that the couple down the street is gay???

[busterdawggy]

Many studies conclude that homosexuals make up 2 to 10 percent of the population. Most, like most heterosexuals, live a modest, law-abiding life. They fall in love, they trust their partners, and only want what others have the right to. In no way does a gay marriage threaten any, I mean any, heterosexual union. Gays are not going to attack you, make your marriage crumble. You heterosexuals are safe. And who is to say that marriage is only between a man and a woman? The Bible? Why, that is a book of unsupported opinions. And remember, the U.S. was not founded as a Christian nation. Don't worry, heterosexuals, you are safe from the militant gay masses.

[formrusmcsgt]

"States do not have the right to destroy the American family," Santorum said
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Bigots will try any line to justify their bigotry.

Gay marraige affects hetero marraige as much as gay mortgages affect hetero mortgages. Zip. Squat. Nada.

[Jaylah54]

Personally, I don't think bigots should marry. Messes up the gene pool horribly.

Sorry, Rich. Your license has been revoke.

[longtree-2009]

why doesn't perry have the stones to declare himself as a candidate or just sit down and shut it? same goes for palin. either get in the mix or simply butt out.

[begovatp]

With 3 wars, 9.2% unemployment, failing infrastructure, and high home foreclosers caused by bank fraud, this is what concerns you.