Republican Candidates Debate Gay Marriage (ContributorNetwork)

For the first time in Gallup's history of tracking opinions on gay marriage, a majority of Americans believed same-sex marriages should be recognized as valid in 2011. In 1996, for instance, almost 70 percent of Americans opposed legalizing gay marriage and although attitudes toward issue are shifting, it is still one of the most divisive social issues facing the country.

Consequently, the candidates seeking the republican presidential nomination were asked for their views on this subject during the first New Hampshire GOP debate.

Here is what they said, according to the debate transcript provided by the Washington Post:

Newt Gingrich: "The sacrament of marriage was based on a man and woman, has been for 3,000 years. It's at the core of our civilization. And it's something worth protecting and upholding. And I think protecting and upholding that doesn't mean you have to go out and make life miserable for others, but it does mean you make a distinction between a historic sacrament of enormous importance in our civilization and simply deciding it applies everywhere and it's just a civil right."

Rick Perry: "I am for a constitutional amendment that says that marriage is between a man and a woman at the federal level. But this administration's war on religion is what bothers me greatly."

Mitt Romney: "There can be domestic partnership benefits or a contractual relationship between two people, which would include ??? hospital visitation rights and the like. We can decide what kinds of benefits we might associate with people who form those kind of relationships, state by state. But to say that marriage is something other than the relationship between a man and a woman, I think, is a mistake. And 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. ???We have to have one law. Marriage is ??? a foundational institution of our country, and we have to have a singular law with respect to that. We can't have somebody married in one state and not married in another."

Jon Huntsman: "Well, personally, I think civil unions are fair. I support them. I think there's such a thing as equality under the law. ? I've been married for 28 years. ? And I don't feel that my relationship is at all threatened by civil unions. On marriage, I'm a traditionalist. I think that ought to be saved for one man and one woman, but I believe that civil unions are fair. And I think it brings a level of dignity to relationships. And I believe in reciprocal beneficiary rights. I think they should be part of civil unions, as well. And states ought to be able to talk about this. I think it's absolutely appropriate."

Rick Santorum: "If ??? the Constitution says marriage is between a man and a woman, then marriage is between a man and a woman. And, therefore, that's what marriage is and would be in this country. And those who are not men and women who are married, would not be married. That's what the Constitution would say."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120109/pl_ac/10808591_republican_candidates_debate_gay_marriage

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