Rick Santorum

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Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is a Republican U.S. Senator representing Pennsylvania. Among other responsibilities, he is the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the number three job in the party's leadership.

Personal background

Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia and received his B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1980 and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. He was an administrative assistant to Pennsylvania State Senator J. Doyle Corman (1981–1986), director of the Pennsylvania State Senate local government committee (1981–1984), and director of the Pennsylvania State Senate Transportation Committee (1984–1986).

In 1986, he received a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Pittsburgh.

In 1990, at age 32, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; he served two terms (January 3, 1991–January 3, 1995). He was elected to the Senate in 1994 and was reelected in 2000.

Santorum has been active in welfare reform and government accountability. He is a pro-life conservative, favors legislation against abortion and homosexual acts, and believes that the U.S. Constitution allows states to enact such laws (counter to the Supreme Court's current interpretation).

Legislation

Santorum co-sponsored the National Museum of African American History and Culture bill, which passed the Senate unanimously.

Santorum is the author of the failed Santorum Amendment which attempted to relativize the teaching of biological evolution in U.S. public schools. The amendment would have required schools to discuss controversies surrounding scientific topics, and gave the theory of evolution as an example; many people interpreted this to mean that alternative theories like intelligent design would have to be taught in schools. The Senate passed a weaker non-binding version of the amendment, which two Ohio Congressmen have invoked to suggest that the state should include "intelligent design" or creationism in its science standards.

Santorum and John Kerry (D-MA) are the lead sponsors of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which would require employers to accommodate the religious observances of their employees as long as providing such accommodations will not impose an "undue hardship" upon the employer. Thus, employers would be encouraged to afford employees flexible work shifts so that they may observe religious holy days and permit employees to wear religiously required garb at work. Versions of the WRFA have been introduced in 1997, 2000, and 2003 but so far have failed to pass.

Remarks about homosexuality

A sizeable controversy arose following Santorum's statements about homosexuality in an interview with the Associated Press taped on April 7, 2003 and published April 20, 2003. In response to a question on his position on how to prevent sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, Santorum described homosexual acts as part of a class of deviant sexual behavior, including incest, polygamy, and bestiality, which threaten society and the family. Furthermore Santorum stated that he believed consenting adults do not have a Constitutional right to privacy with respect to sexual acts.

Santorum said that the priests were engaged in "a basic homosexual relationship" with "post-pubescent men", and went on to express that he had "a problem with homosexual acts", that the right to privacy "doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution", that "whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, where it's sodomy, all of those things, are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family," that sodomy laws properly exist to prevent acts which "undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family", and when asked "OK, without being too gory or graphic, so if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex?" his response ended "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."

Democratic politicians including the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates, gay rights advocates such as Dan Savage (details), and other liberal commentators condemned the statements, while Republican politicians, religious conservatives, and other conservative commentators supported Santorum and called the condemnations unfair. Some critics argued that Santorum's position may also affect heterosexuals, as Santorum said that he did not believe there is a Constitutional right to engage in private consensual sexual acts.

Santorum did not back down from his remarks, stating that they were not intended to equate homosexuality with incest and adultery, but rather as a critique of the specific legal position that the right to privacy prevent the government from regulating consensual acts among adults, because he does not believe that there is a Constitutional right to privacy.

External links

• Santorum's Senate website
• An unedited section of the Associated Press interview

Referenced By