Rick Santorum Says Gay Marriage Could Cause US to 'Fall'
GOP candidate Rick Santorum took a hard-line stance against same-sex marriage on Saturday by claiming it could cause the United States to "fall."
A private debate held at the First Federated Church in Iowa featured six GOP candidates discussing social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage.
"We have to fight the battles in the states," said Santorum at the private debate.. "We cannot defer. We can't say, 'The Tenth Amendment, they can do what they want.' This is too important for that. There's a basic and central value. The family is the bedrock of our society. Unless we protect it with the institution of marriage, our country will fall."
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Santorum’s eyes watered when speaking about abortion. His daughter, Bella, was born with a life-threatening chromosomal disorder.
"I decided the best thing I could do was to treat her differently and not love her like I did because it wouldn't hurt as much if I’d lost her," he said.
Santorum served as Pennsylvania Senator from 1995 to 2007. He spent most of his time at the bottom of the polls in the GOP race.
Newt Gingrich topped a USA Today/Gallup poll of Republican voters released Monday with 22 percent. Mitt Romney is right behind at 21 percent. Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain is in third with 16 percent. Rep. Ron Paul accrued 9 percent of the vote, and Texas Sen. Rick Perry received 8 percent. Michelle Bachman received 4 percent while Santorum and former Utah Gov. John Huntsman each garnered 1 percent of the vote.
Gingrich is the latest candidate to surge in the polls due to what some pundits are calling the "anybody but Romney" effect.
Herman Cain was the leader before being plagued by sexual harassment allegations and failing to recollect the Libya situation in an interview.
Rick Perry also had his time at the top of the polls before a string of poor showings in the Republican debates.
The next debate will be held on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and it will be televised on CNN. All eight candidates are expected to participate.
