[Hoot Gibson]

Gay marriage needs to go ahead and be allowed in our country. Times change, it's not 1940 anymore. Let them do what they want. It doesn't effect us, straight people, at all...so who are we to tell people what they can or can't do when it comes to marriage?

And the birth control thing...not really my place to give judgement on that.

The controversy is a contrived one that really has nothing to do with contraception. Listen to Democrats over the next few months repeatedly claim that Republicans want to deny women access to contraception. Some will even claim that Republicans want to outlaw contraception. The timing of this stunt is probably tied to Rick Santorum's rise in the polls.

The following headline is from the Huffington Post. If you read the article, it becomes clear that Santorum does not support banning contraception or sodomy. What he supports is the right of states to pass laws that are not unconstitutional. I agree with him, along with the majority of voters in this country. If Santorum wins the nomination notice how often he is portrayed as somebody who wants to ban contraception and homosexuality. That is why Obama picked a fight with Santorum's religion. Women already have easy access to contraception. Access and "free" are not synonymous. I have access to more condoms than I could ever possibly use but I have no constitutional right to make somebody give me a Wilt Chamberlain bulk package of them at no cost - and neither does Barack Obama.

[INDENT]

Rick Santorum: States Should Have Power To Ban Birth Control, Sodomy

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, whose strong base of evangelical Christian supporters has thrust him into contention in Iowa, said on Monday that he believes states should have the right to outlaw birth control and sodomy without the interference of the Supreme Court.

In an interview with Jake Tapper on ABC News, Santorum reiterated his opposition to the Supreme Court’s 1965 ruling that prevented Connecticut from banning contraception.

“The state has a right to do that, I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that," he said. "It is not a constitutional right. The state has the right to pass whatever statutes they have. That's the thing I have said about the activism of the Supreme Court--they are creating rights, and it should be left up to the people to decide."

Santorum said he also opposes the Supreme Court's 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision striking down a ban on sodomy in Texas and 13 other states. Even though he would not personally vote for a ban on sodomy, he said, he thinks states should legally be able to pass them, because sodomy is not a constitutionally protected right.

"I thought that law was an improper law ... but that doesn't mean the state doesn’t have a right to do that," he said.

<---SNIP--->

"You shouldn’t create constitutional rights when states do dumb things," he told Tapper. "You should let the people decide if the states are doing dumb things, get rid of the legislature and replace them."

[/INDENT]