Candidates Reject Gay Marriage at GOP Debate in New Hampshire

I can hear the sound of progressive heads exploding.

At Los Angeles Times, "GOP candidates restate opposition to gay marriage":

Reporting from Goffstown, N.H.— Rick Santorum's new status in the top tier of the Republican race for president has also raised the profile of gay marriage as a major issue. In tonight's debate, the candidates largely agreed in favoring a narrow definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

The first question posed to the candidates dealt with how same-sex couples should go about recognizing a committed, long-term relationship if marriage was not an option available to them.

Newt Gingrich said marriage was a "sacrament" long recognized in history as being between a man and a woman.

"It is a huge jump from being understanding and considerate and concerned, which we should be, to saying we therefore are going to institute the sacrament of marriage as though it has no basis," he said. "It's something worth protecting."

Santorum was asked what should happen to couples who have married in New Hampshire since it became state law. Santorum said marriage was a federal issue.

"We have to have one law. We can't have someone married in one state and not married in another. Once we are successful in establishing that, then this issue becomes moot," he said.

Mitt Romney said he'd support domestic partnership benefits for gay couples, but stopped short of gay marriage or even civil unions.

"To say that marriage is something other than the relationship between a man and a woman, I think, is a mistake," he said. "The reason for that is not that we want to discriminate against people or to suggest that gay couples are not just as loving and can't also raise children well. But it's instead a recognition that, for society as a whole, that the nation presumably would be better off if children are raised in a setting where there's a male and a female."

Also at The Hill, "GOP debate: No love for gay marriage."

And see Gateway Pundit, "Awesome! Newt Rips Media For Bias & Bigotry Against the Church (Video)."

And see Linkmaster Smith, "Post-Debate Spin Room."

Added: A thread at Memeorandum.

Heads at The Political Carnival's are already exploding. We'll see more progressive bigotry tomorrow.