Editorial Shunning Santorum, Commemorating Civil Unions

Author: Campus Editor in Chief

The anniversary of Vermont's landmark civil unions bill passed almost unnoticed last week. The debate that three years ago polarized the electorate has since faded into the mainstream, with even the most vocal opponents accepting its place in Vermont's law books.

Vermont remains the sole state in the union to grant loving, committed gay and lesbian relationships the legitimacy of law.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) reminded us of how much remains to be done.

In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Santorum said, "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." The senator was commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court case that weighs Texas residents' right to engage in homosexual relations in their own homes.

"All those things are antithetical to a stable, healthy family," he concluded.

Santorum's remarks showcase his ignorance, but also display contempt for equal rights. His status as the Republican Party's number-three man also lends credence to a view that should have withered long ago - that homosexuality is somehow equated with socially deviant behavior such as incest.

Intolerance breeds intolerance. The prominent Pennsylvania senator belittled his office by using it to trumpet such archaic views. And he delivered a forceful and frightening reminder of the bias that still lurks in this country.

You needn't look far to find it. Just ask Vermonters who witnessed the civil unions drama unfold here three years ago.

To make matters worse, the Bush White House raced to Santorum's defense, labeling his politics "inclusive." The administration thereby called into question just how far America's equitable rhetoric extends.

At least Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean - who signed the civil unions bill into law - had the political nerve to respond. He called on Santorum to resign from the Senate leadership, and added, "The deafening silence of President Bush and his party has become inexcusable."

The Middlebury College community must not succumb to silence.

We must hold up the civil unions bill as a model for other states to follow. And we must shun the dated logic embedded in Santorum's words.

The anniversary of civil unions legislation may have passed without incident. Santorum's bigotry should not.