Quayle Says Homosexuality is Wrong
HOUSTON (AP) _ Vice President Dan Quayle denied today that his acceptance speech poke at alternative lifestyles was gay bashing but said homosexual relationships should not be treated the same as marriage.
When asked on ABC’s ″Good Morning America″ whether he thought homosexual lifestyles were wrong he said, ″Yes.″
But he added, ″That is not gay bashing. ... I’m just saying that from my point of view and from the view of most Americans, they think that lifestyle is wrong. That’s not saying people don’t have the right to make that choice.″
He reaffirmed the Bush administration’s policy of non-discrimination, but then said: ″I do not equate and I do not believe that you have a so-called gay marriage and you have a heterosexual marriage, they are not the same and they should not be treated as the same.″
During his speech Thursday night, Quayle said it was wrong for parents trying to ″raise their children to understand right and wrong - only to be told that every so-called ‘lifestyle alternative’ is morally equivalent.″
Quayle aides said the phrase ″lifestyle alternative″ encompassed gay relationships as well as the unwed motherhood that Quayle objected to on television’s ″Murphy Brown.″
In New York, where he met with Bosnian officials, Democratic vice presidential candidate Al Gore said today that Quayle’s comments reflected a GOP trait of discussing every issue except the problems the nation faces.
″What this country is about is the freedom on the part of Americans to live their lives and when the economy is suffering, unemployment is thriving, our families can’t get health care and jobs are being moved overseas, obviously they want to talk about everything else except that,″ Gore said.
Later, Quayle told Republican leaders at a convention city send-off that President Bush’s promise for an across-the-board tax cut coupled with spending reductions had defined the GOP ticket.
″Now there is absolutely no doubt that there is a major difference between our president and the governor of Arkansas: They want to raise taxes; we want to lower taxes,″ he said.
In his acceptance, Quayle vowed he was ″unbowed, unbroken″ by his critics as he accepted his party’s renomination by declaring there was a ″cultural divide″ separating Democrats and Republicans.
He defiantly taunted Clinton - and even some in the GOP - who have ridiculed his performance as Bush’s understudy.
″I know my critics wish I were not standing here tonight,″ Quayle said. ″They don’t like our values. They look down on our beliefs. They’re afraid of our ideas. And they know the American people stand on our side.″
Quayle said this morning President Bush’s acceptance speech Thursday ″laid out very clearly how’s he’s going to get this economy going and it’s not going to be through higher taxes, but lower taxes.″
″The program he offered last night is a discipline, to force Congress not to spend so much money,″ he said. ″With a new Congress and this president there will be a whole sea change.″