Mitt Romney refuses to sign anti-gay marriage pledge by conservative Christian group



Mitt Romney has refused to sign a pledge opposing gay marriage, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to reject it.

The agreement, drawn up by a conservative Christian group in Iowa, calls on candidates to denounced same-sex marriage rights, pornography, same-sex military accommodations and forms of Islamic law.

Two of Romney's rivals, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, have already signed The Family Leader's 14-point pledge.

Rejection: Mitt Romney's decision makes him the first Republican presidential candidate not to sign the 14-point pledge against gay marriage

When it was first circulated last week, the introduction to the pledge stated that African American children were more likely to be raised in two-parent households when they were born into slavery than they are today.



The group removed that phrase and apologised after black ministers complained, but said it stands by the rest of the document.

Romney's spokesman, Andrea Saul, issued a written statement saying the former Massachusetts governor 'strongly supports traditional marriage', but that the oath 'contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign'.

Bachmann and Santorum have been campaigning hard to court the influential social conservatives in Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses.



Romney's rejection of the pledge reflects his diminished focus on winning Iowa, where he spent $1 million during his 2008 presidential campaign only to finish second.

None of the other GOP presidential hopefuls, including former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have said whether they will sign the pledge or not.

Signed up: Presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum have both put their names to the 14-point anti-gay marriage pledge



Romney, who supported rights for gay couples in Massachusetts, was criticised in Iowa by some Iowa social conservatives during his 2008 campaign, when he finished second in the caucuses after aggressively courting Christian conservatives.

In his second bid, Romney, who leads in national GOP polls, has cast himself as a national figure more focused on the economy.



The Family Leader, an organisation formed last year and positioning itself to be an influential player in the 2012 caucuses, said today they stand by the 14 policy positions listed under the promise to 'defend and to uphold the institution of marriage as only between one man and one woman'.

The points include the promise to be faithful to their spouses, enforce the federal Defense of Marriage Act and support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

The group said signing the oath is a condition of winning its endorsement before the caucuses.

On the campaign trail: Mitt Romney, pictured here in New Hampshire during a July 4th parade, has diminished his focus on winning in Iowa

Julie Summa, director of marketing and public outreach for The Family Leader, said: 'We are standing firm that the 14 points of the marriage vow are right on target and we are creating higher standards for the presidential candidates.

'We are not backing away from that at all.'

Gay marriage has been a volatile issue in Iowa in recent years, and came to a head in 2009 when the Iowa Supreme Court struck down the state's statutory ban on gay marriage, making same-sex marriages legal.



Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is not campaigning in Iowa, citing his past opposition to farm subsidies, although he also supported rights for same-sex couples as governor of Utah.