Mitt Romney Blocked New Birth Certificates For Gay Parents

As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney actively worked against gay parents, denying them access to new birth certificates.

After the state became the first to legalize gay marriage in 2003, the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics proposed altering its birth certificate forms to accommodate babies born to gay and lesbian couples. The agency proposed relabeling the box for “father” to read “father or second parent.”

Romney, according to the Boston Globe, rejected the plan. Instead, he ordered his top legal staff to individually review each request. If approved, officials would then be allowed to make the changes to the form by hand, crossing out the word “father” and substituting “second parent.”

The practice remained in place throughout Romney's term. For lesbian couples, the policy resulted in delays. But gay men were often forced to obtain a court order.

In noting Romney's opposition to gay parents, the paper quoted the Republican presidential candidate's 2004 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington.

“The children of America have the right to a father and a mother,” Romney testified. “What should be the ideal for raising a child? Not a village, not 'parent A' and 'parent B,' but a mother and a father.”

At a 2005 rally in South Carolina, he added: “Some gays are actually having children born to them. It's not right on paper. It's not right in fact. Every child has a right to a mother and father.”

Romney also actively supported efforts for a Massachusetts constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, which would have effectively reversed the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling legalizing marriage for gay couples.

Earlier this year, Romney boasted that he kept Massachusetts from becoming “the Las Vegas of gay marriage,” a reference to the fact that out-of-state gay couples were banned from marrying in the state while Romney was governor.