Washington, D.C. — While Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has gone backward in his support of equality for the gay community, President Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and the American public are moving forward in their embrace of marriage equality. Following yesterday’s news that the Democratic National Committee will include gay marriage in their party platform and recent polls showing overwhelming public support for both equal employment rights and relationship recognition, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, as part of Romney University, has today released two issue briefs—“Mitt Romney Doesn’t Support Gay and Transgender Equality” and “Perpetuating Inequality”—as well as two infographics—“Mitt Romney vs. the Public on Gay and Transgender Equality” and “Civil Unions and the Two Mitt Romneys.” CAP Action Executive Vice President for External Affairs Winnie Stachelberg will be available to comment on the DNC announcement.
“Mitt Romney Doesn’t Support Gay and Transgender Equality” includes a chart comparing Gov. Romney’s positions to those of President Obama on issues of importance to the LGBT community, and “Perpetuating Inequality” explains why the kinds of laws and policies that Mitt Romney espouses impose financial harm on families headed by same-sex couples and threaten the health and wellness of gay and transgender Americans and their families. Gay and transgender individuals need a government that works for all Americans and treats all Americans equally. Based off his own campaign statements and policy positions, Mitt Romney would not lead that kind of government.
The infographic “Civil Unions and the Two Mitt Romneys” shows Mitt Romney backtracking on his support for civil unions as governor and breaking ranks with prominent Republicans like George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice who have stated their support for civil unions. He now joins the company of extreme right-wing conservatives like Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann who also oppose civil unions, let alone marriage equality.
In flip-flopping on his 1994 position to “make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern,” to stating his opposition of civil unions in 2012, Mitt Romney panders to the extreme in his party and his policy reversal runs counter to the progress that Americans want to see going forward, as detailed in “Mitt Romney vs. the Public on Gay and Transgender Equality.” This infographic shows a timeline of Mitt Romney’s declining support of same-sex relationship recognition and equal employment rights, as contrasted with the public’s increasing support on both issues.
Related resources from our partner, the Center for American Progress:
Learn more about Romney U:
To speak with CAP Action experts on the DNC announcement or Romney University products, please contact Christina DiPasquale at 202.481.8181 or [email protected].
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