Former Senator and infamous opponent of LGBT rights Rick Santorum had surprisingly conciliatory things to say about Bruce Jenner this weekend, insisting he would “love and accept” the transgender woman for who he is.
While speaking at a Republican Party convention in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday, Santorum was asked by a BuzzFeed reporter to reflect on the recent media blitz surrounding former Olympian Bruce Jenner, who came out as a trans woman last weekend. Santorum, a famously conservative politician who is evaluating another possible presidential run, offered an unexpectedly open-minded response.
“If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman,” he told BuzzFeed. “My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are. I can criticize, and I do, for what people do, for their behavior. But as far as for who they are, you have to respect everybody, and these are obviously complex issues for businesses, for society, and I think we have to look at it in a way that is compassionate and respectful of everybody.”
The tone of Santorum’s comments differs starkly from past remarks on sexuality, as he has traditionally taken a hardline stance against LGBT rights. In 2012, he likened the debate over same-sex marriage to the September 11 terrorist attacks, said he would “die on that hill” fighting against marriage equality, and promised to annul all same-sex marriages if elected president. He has also been confronted by transgender activists in the past, with one woman telling him at a 2012 campaign event “Mr. Santorum, you have spilled queer blood!”
Despite Santorum’s rhetorical shift, however, he made it clear on Saturday that while he may support different sexual identities, he does not support non-heterosexual acts. He also made no move to endorse laws that would assist transgender people, and dodged a question over whether Jenner should be allowed to use women’s public restrooms.
“I haven’t got into the whole issue, and I don’t think the federal government should get into the whole issue of bathrooms,” Santorum said. “I think those are things that the business community and local agencies and organizations should deal with.”