Boston Spirit magazine has done some forraging into Mitt Romney’s track record with same-sex couples, and they’ve turned up some worrying details.
The magazine interviewed some of the plaintiffs from a landmark case from 2004, in which the Supreme Court had cleared the way for same-sex couples to get licences to marry in the state of Massachusetts. Mitt Romney was still voting against the law going through, supporting an opposing constitutional ammendment.
Here’s what happened:
Julie Goodridge and other plaintiffs in the landmark case had written a letter to the governor, asking for a meeting. He ignored it, so they staged a press conference at his office to read the letter to the media. That, finally, got them through his door. Once inside, they were shocked.
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For about 20 frustrating minutes, say those in attendance who Boston Spirit interviewed recently, they shared their stories, pled their case, and tried to explain how equal marriage would protect them and their families. Romney sat stone-faced and almost entirely silent.
“Is there anything else?” Romney asked when they finished. With that, the meeting was over.
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David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs, said it was “like talking to a robot. No expression, no feeling”. “He didn’t even shake his head. He was completely blank.” But it got worse.
“I didn’t know you had families,” remarked Romney to the group, according to Wilson.
This remark brought Romney’s ignorance of the whole case – at the time widely covered in the media – into sharp relief. But it wasn’t ignorance he was in a hurry to ammend. As the interview drew to a close, it became apparent that he just didn’t care:
“I looked him in the eye as we were leaving,” recalls Goodridge. “And I said, ‘Governor Romney, tell me — what would you suggest I say to my 8 year-old daughter about why her mommy and her ma can’t get married because you, the governor of her state, are going to block our marriage?’”
His response, according to Goodridge: “I don’t really care what you tell your adopted daughter. Why don’t you just tell her the same thing you’ve been telling her the last eight years.”