In wake of Proposition 8 ruling, Santorum attacks Obama

by Daniel Strauss - 02/08/12 5:33 PM ET

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum said the Obama administration’s view of proponents of California’s Proposition 8 amounts to bigotry.

Proposition 8, which was passed in 2008 and banned same-sex marriage in California, was ruled unconstitutional Tuesday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Santorum, speaking at a campaign stop Wednesday in Texas, said the administration’s view of advocates of Proposition 8 is that their “belief of marriage between a man and a woman is purely irrational based on irrational hatred and bigotry. Where’s the tolerance in that?”

{mosads}On Twitter, Santorum said the court ruling completely disregarded the California majority that voted in favor of the law.

The Obama administration refused to comment in response to the appeals court ruling. President Obama, who is against same-sex marriage, has said his view on the issue is “evolving.”

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Other prominent Democrats did weigh in on the ruling. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised it.

“Today’s decision is a victory for civil rights and for progress for the LGBT community and for all Californians,” Pelosi said Tuesday in a news release.

At the campaign event, Santorum said proponents of overturning Proposition 8 view advocates of the law as “bigots” who “should be ostracized from the public square.”

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