During the debate held a few days ago at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena proved that the gay marriage debate was no longer the hot topic for the GOP Presidential candidates. Planned Parenthood was the controversial social issue at hand that trumped gay marriage. Planned Parenthood has taken the front stage at the debate with the controversy over how they handle fetal tissue and if their treatment is considered lawful. Abortion was a hot social topic years ago, but it is being honed in on again by GOP candidates.
Although Planned Parenthood and abortion are front and center for the controversial topic, that does not mean that gay marriage has been forgotten about. Many of the 2016 Presidential hopefuls still gave their opinion on gay marriage. John Kasich, who is the current Governor of Ohio, gave his response to gay marriage to the loudest applause from the audience. When Gov. Kasich was asked how he would explain his stance on opposing gay marriage if one of his children came out as gay, Gov. Kasich changed his tune. He said that since the Supreme Court has already ruled on the issue, he would stand behind the decision. He also said that any child of his who came out as gay would have nothing but love and tolerance from him. His support of gay marriage was a surprising turn that the audience appreciated.
Other GOP Presidential hopefuls were not as tolerant and supportive in their answers on gay marriage as Gov. John Kasich was. Rick Santorum, a former Senator, said that he was outraged over the Supreme Court’s decision and that the fight was not over yet. Both Governor Scott Walker and Senator Ted Cruz feel that gay marriage should not be left up to the Supreme Court to decide, but rather the decision of the state.
This debate proves that while gay marriage is still a controversial topic, it is no longer in the hot seat thanks to Planned Parenthood. None of the candidates really focused on LGBT issues like in the past. Candidates instead focused on taking away any government funding from Planned Parenthood and Sen Cruz actually made mention of having the Department of Justice handle them.