Romney shifts tone on gay adoption (Flip-Flop) [View All]

[matcom]

<snip>

Governor Mitt Romney, who frequently tells Republican audiences that every child has a right to have a mother and father, acknowledged yesterday that same-sex couples have ''a legitimate interest" in adopting children.

Romney said he would file a ''very narrow" bill aimed at letting Catholic Charities, the social service arm of the Boston Archdiocese, and other religious groups exclude same-sex couples from their adoption programs if including them violates religious tenets. But he also noted that gays and lesbians have a right to adopt.

''I know that there will be some gay couples who will say that this could be discriminatory against us," Romney told reporters after an unrelated press conference at the Westin Copley Place hotel. ''Except that there are many, many other agencies that can meet the needs of those gay couples, and I recognize that they have a legitimate interest in being able to receive adoptive services."

The comments were softer in tone than those last week, when the governor said nothing about the legal basis for gay adoptions as he announced his plans to file the bill. Romney, who is gaining more exposure with Republicans as he lays the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign in 2008, has sought to strike a balance between his opposition to same-sex marriage and his role as the executive officer in a state where such marriages are legal.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/03/14/romney_shifts_tone_on_gay_adoption?mode=PF