5 Anti-Gay Comments that Earned Santorum His Name

How do you set yourself apart as being one of the most anti-gay GOP presidential hopeful when the existing pool of candidates are all patently homophobic? If your name is Rick Santorum, all you have to do is open your mouth.

Joining an already crowded pack of conservative presidential hopefuls, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum could possibly be the most anti-gay in a field already filled to the brim with anti-gay candidates. That's really saying something when you consider that field includes Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson.

To mark the start of Santorum's official bid for the White House, EDGE compiled a list of the top five anti-gay comments made by the politician turned christian movie mogul turned presidential hopeful.

Equating marriage equality to loving your mother-in-law

In May 2008, Santorum linked marriage equality to loving your mother-in-law.

"Is anyone saying same-sex couples can't love each other?" Santorum said in a Philadelphia Inquirer column. "I love my children. I love my friends, my brother. Heck, I even love my mother-in-law. Should we call these relationships marriage, too?"

Compared homosexuality to incest, polygamy and "man-on-dog" sex

During a 2003 interview with Associated Press, Santorum stirred up fear by equating homosexuality to every aberrant thing he had in his homophobic war chest.

"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery." Santorum said. "You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does... That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing."

Gays have silenced the church.

During a 2014 interview with hate group leader Tony Perkins, Santorum claimed the Right Wing was losing the war for marriage because gays were silencing the church.

"We are losing in this particular area among young people not because we're out there and competing, it's because they [gays] have effectively silenced the church on a lot of those issues and young people don't even know what the opposing view is on these issues," he said.

Banning Same-sex adoption is "Common Sense"

In a 2011 interview with CNS, Santorum said that if a state allows same-sex adoption they "are doing a disservice to society and the child." Calling his opposition to same-sex marriage and adoption "common sense," he said that we should not "defy nature" just because "a certain group of people want to be affirmed by society"

Used the "God Hates Fags" Slogan as an Analogy on National Television

In a April 2015 appearance on CBS's Sunday morning political news show "Face the Nation" Santorum evoked the Westboro Baptist Church's slogan to make a point.

"Tolerance is a two-way street," Santorum said. "If you are a print shop and you are a gay man, should you be forced to print 'God Hates Fags' for the Westboro Baptist Church because they hold those signs up?... Should the government force you to do that?"