Mitt Romney channeled the social conservative positions of Rick Santorum during last night’s GOP presidential debate in Arizona, arguing that religious organizations should be allowed to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples in the adoption process and claiming that children deserve a home “with a mother and a father”:

ROMNEY: And when we have programs that say we’re going to teach abstinence in schools, the liberals go crazy and try and stop us from doing that. We have to have a president who’s willing to say that the best opportunity an individual can give to their unborn child is an opportunity to be born in a home with a mother and a father. [...]

We battled, for instance, to help the Catholic Church stay in the adoption business. The amazing thing was that while the Catholic Church was responsible for half the adoptions in my state — half the adoptions — they had to get out of that business because the legislature wouldn’t support me and give them an exemption from having to place children in homes where there was a mom and a dad on a preferential basis.

Watch it:

In 2006, however, Romney seemed to accept the idea that same-sex couples can adopt a child. “They are able to adopt children…And I’m not going to change that,” he said, noting that same-sex couples have “a legitimate interest” in adoption. “Obviously, that’s their right,” he explained in 2007.

But in aiming to secure the GOP presidential nomination for 2012, the former Massachusetts governor has walked back his support for gay and lesbian families and has adopted a more nuanced position on same-sex adoption. During an August GOP debate, Romney pledged to institute a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as a between a man and a woman “because I believe the ideal place to raise a child is in a home with a mom and dad.” He doubled down on that position during a town hall in New Hampshire in October, arguing that while he would support “partnership agreements” for same-sex couples, “the ideal setting to raise a child for a society like ours is where there is a man and a woman.”

Ultimately, the Romney campaign maintains that same-sex adoption “should be assessed on a state-by-state basis,” a point the candidate himself failed to make in trying to close the gap between himself and Santorum at Wednesday night’s debate.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) accused President Obama of “cowardice” and trying to have it “both ways” on marriage equality during a contentious appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday. Christie defended his recent veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry and reiterated his call to put the question to a popular referendum, arguing, “the Democrats in my state are criticizing me saying my feet are firmly planted on the wrong side of justice. I said yesterday, yeah, my feet are firmly planted right next to President Obama.” “He could have gotten more votes in New Jersey out of Democrats in the legislature — not all of them voted for it –if the President would have taken a stand,” Christie added.

But the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart challenged Christie’s comparison, pointing out that Obama opposes state efforts to deny rights to gay and lesbian Americans and has ordered his Justice Department to stop defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act:

CAPEHART: Governor Christie, I heard you say that you have your feet firmly planted next to President Obama on this issue, but the key difference between you and the President is while you support putting the civil rights of a minority up for a public referendum, the President is certainly not in favor of that.

CHRISTIE: Has he said that, Jonathan? Jonathan, has he said that? I haven’t heard him say that…The President is silent on this like he’s silent on every issue that’s difficult for him. [...] Let’s have the President of the United States show some courage, come on this program, look into the camera like I’m looking into the camera, and state his position. He won’t because he wants to have it both ways. I’m not looking to have it both ways, I vetoed the bill. That’s my position. What I’ve offered to the supporters of same-sex marriage is if one of your reasons for why I should have voted signed it was because you’re telling me the majority of the people of New Jersey want it, then prove it. Put it on the ballot and prove it. At least I’m standing up for what I believe in. The President has hidden on this issue, Jonathan, he’s hidden on it….This is the type of cowardice that we don’t want.

Watch the entire exchange:

Capehart went on to defend the notion that marriage equality is a civil rights issue that should not be left to the whims of voters. Civil marriage is “an issue of equality, of equal treatment under the law,” he explained. “It’s an issue of whether — if I were to get married to my partner and we were to have children, that my children would have the same protections that your children have because you’re able to legally marry.” “In that regard, we’re talking overall a civil rights issue and what African Americans continue to struggle with is exactly what lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are struggling with today.”

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said he may be open to supporting the campaign to include marriage equality in the Democrat’s 2012 party platform, but stopped short of fully endorsing the effort during a radio interview this afternoon. “Perhaps, I haven’t given a whole lot of thought to that,” O’Malley said in a response to a question from SiriusXM’s Michelangelo Signorile, and stressed that the party must prioritize job creation “in order to get re-elected.”

The governor, a supporter of same-sex marriage, was at a loss for words, however, when asked what he would say to President Obama to help him evolve on marriage equality:

O’MALLEY: The..I don’t know. I wouldn’t. I guess, what I would. I don’t know that I’d presume to. What I believe President Obama is trying to do is the same thing that public servants of good will are trying to do on this issue in many different places…I think what all of us try to do in the short time we have to serve….what we try to do is take action and forge consensus on the front end of the wave.

Listen:

The Maryland House of Delegates passed a marriage equality bill last week and the Senate is expected to take-up the measure as soon as tomorrow.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced two new grant competitions focusing on connecting HIV-positive transgender women of color with health care services, including primary care and HIV-related care.

The first grant opportunity, which is designed to improve the overall quality of HIV care for transgender women of color, will award each of up to eight grantees $300,000 annually for five years. The demonstration sites will develop, implement, and evaluate innovative programs designed to connect these women with timely and appropriate care. These programs will also help them stay in touch with providers who can provide a range of primary and HIV-related services.

The second opportunity will fund an Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center that will coordinate capacity-building activities, provide technical assistance in clinical and cultural competence around care for HIV-positive transgender women of color, and oversee the dissemination of findings from the demonstration sites.

The new grants are part of a growing number of initiatives by the Department of Health and Human Services that specifically focus on the transgender population. In September 2011, HRSA awarded a grant to Fenway Health, an LGBT community health center in Boston, to establish a National Training and Technical Assistance Center that will help other community health centers serve the LGBT population. Also in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $55 million over five years to 34 community-based organizations to expand HIV prevention services for transgender youth of color, as well as young gay and bisexual men of color.

More such initiatives are sorely needed. Transgender people frequently encounter discrimination in aspects of everyday life such as employment, education, and housing, and research indicates that they are less likely than the general population to have access to health insurance and culturally competent health care. Though no national surveys currently ask about gender identity or transgender status, the limited research on transgender health that exists demonstrates that transgender people, particularly people of color and those who are poor, young, sex workers, or homeless, experience substantial health disparities. Estimated HIV prevalence rates among the transgender population range from 14 to 69 percent, with reported rates among African American transgender women in excess of 56 percent.

In addition to improving data collection on the demographics and health needs of the transgender population, more research is needed into every aspect of transgender health. Research priorities include the overall health of transgender people across the lifespan, further demonstrations of the safety and medical necessity of transition-related care, and investigations into the role that discrimination plays in driving disparities such as high rates of HIV and AIDS.

Eligible entities for the new HRSA grants include non-profits, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, community health centers, state and local governments, and Indian tribes. Both programs are funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program as Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS). Applications are due by April 16, 2012.

On The Tonight Show last night, Jay Leno challenged Bill O’Reilly about Rick Santorum’s comments on social issues: “He doesn’t like condoms, he doesn’t like birth control, I don’t understand this anti-gay thing. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Leno said. O’Reilly responded by defending Santorum, saying that people should disregard the “dopey past comments” he has made because he’s “inexperienced”:

O’REILLY: I think people should define their religion and why they believe and what they believe if you’re running for president. I think they should do that, but I don’t think they should be saying, “Well, my religion is better than yours,” or anything like that. Look, Santorum is a guy is who is inexperienced in this arena. He got drawn into a few things. He’s made some past comments. Everybody has dopey past comments… so we have to cut him a little slack… He’d be wise to say, “Look, I said what I said, now let’s get into the economy,” and that’s where he should go.

In fact, O’Reilly seemed to think candidates’ histories should be disregarded entirely, suggesting also that Newt Gingrich’s conversion to Catholicism made him an entirely different person. Watch the interview:

(HT: Gawker.)

Last night, the Georgia House Judiciary subcommittee tabled “a bill that would provide workplace protections to all state employees, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers,” GA Voice reports. During the hearing, Tanya Ditty, state director for Concerned Women for America, warned lawmakers that the measure would protect 23 different sexual orientations and even allow pedophiles to teach in the schools. She argued that male cross dressers would be allowed to use women’s restrooms and “exploit the vulnerability of women and children”:

DITTY: There are 23 sexual orientations that fit under this definition and if this bill became law, then what we would be protecting for public employees is not only heterosexuality, bisexuality, pedophilia, transsexuality, transvestitism, I’m not going to read them all. Voyeurism, exhibitionism, feetism, zoophilia, necrophilia, klismaphilia and the list goes on. I teach in the public school system and I wonder if this would impact the public school system. And we have parents who bring their kids to school everyday and expect the school to protect them. And what’s going to protect our children if someone that is a pedophiliac comes in and gets a teaching job, is a bus driver, is a custodian, and they can be people that just want to prey on people and they will be protected with this law.

Watch it:

Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, said the measure is still “very much alive,” but faces “a huge challenge to get it through this year.” Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, “covering 44 percent of the United States population.” Sixteen states or 33 percent of the population is covered by a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity.”

An openly-gay hair stylist in New Mexico is protesting Gov. Susana Martinez’s (R) opposition to same-sex marriage by refusing to style her hair unless she changes her position on the issue. KOB Eyewitness News 4 reports that Antonio Darden, “a popular stylist who runs Antonio’s Hair Studio in Santa Fe, said he cut Martinez’ hair three times” but is now refusing to see his famous client:

“The governor’s aides called not too long ago, wanting another appointment to come in,” Darden said. “Because of her stances and her views on this I told her aides no. They called the next day, asking if I’d changed my mind about taking the governor in and I said no again.”

The governor has said she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that does not cut it with Darden.

“I think it’s just equality, dignity for everyone,” the popular hair stylist said. “I think everybody should be allowed the right to be together. My partner and I have been together for 15 years.”

Watch a local news news segment on the story:

During her gubernatorial campaign Martinez answered “no” when asked whether she’d sign a domestic-partnership bill, adding “I don’t think it is necessary. It is not a law I would sign.” She was recently praised by LGBT equality advocates, however, for appointing Doug Howe, a gay man, to the Public Regulation Commission over the opposition of some social conservatives in the state.

A new report out of Britain’s Open University last week looks at the unique challenges facing the bisexual community and the compounding impact of homophobia and biphobia. A meta-analysis of various studies found that bisexual people face a higher risk of mental health problems — such as depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicidal thinking — than even gays and lesbians. This is because people who are bi face distinct forms of stereotypes and exclusion that come from both the straight and gay communities. Here are a selection of some of the recommendations the study makes for combating biphobia:

• Separate biphobia out from homophobia, recognising that there are specific issues facing bisexual people such as lack of acknowledgement of their existence, stereotypes of greediness or promiscuity, and pressure to be either gay or straight.
• Recognise the role that biphobia and bisexual invisibility play in creating negative outcomes for bisexual people.
• Recognise that bisexual people are also subject to homophobia, heterosexism and heteronormativity.
• Tackle biphobic hate crime by separating out the experiences of bisexual people in national surveys, examining bisexual-specific experiences, and particularly addressing sexual assault.
• Specifically target bisexual youth in sexual health campaigns, rather than subsuming them in lesbian and gay categories. Any restrictions relating to sexual health, such as the donation of blood, should be around safety of sexual practices engaged in rather than the genders or sexual identities of those involved.

The full report is worth a read, as it includes the testimony of many bisexual people and a helpful discussion for understanding the identity’s many possible variations. Given researchers are still wasting time on whether bisexuality even exists — it does — further examination for the unique experiences of bi people can further an understanding of all people’s sexualities and the way society treats them. (HT: Jane Fae.)

During a 2008 “Press & People of Faith in Politics” forum, Rick Santorum described to the Democratic Party as “the party of Woodstock,” and accused lawmakers of “prey[ing] upon our most basic primal lusts.” Asked to name a couple of words he’d heard attached to religion and politics in his years in the Senate, Santorum listed “moderate,” “ultra-conservative,” “liberal,” and “zealous” before launching into a full-on tirade against Democrats:

“Woodstock is the great American orgy. This is who the Democratic Party has become. They have become the party of Woodstock. The prey upon our most basic primal lusts, and that’s sex. And the whole abortion culture, it’s not about life. It’s about sexual freedom. That’s what it’s about. Homosexuality. It’s about sexual freedom.”

Of course Santorum will position Republicans as the “anti-homosexuality” party if he wins the nomination and has pledged to to annul all same-sex marriages and personally campaign in every state against marriage equality.

– Fatima Najiy