Queried by a gay man about marriage rights at a campaign stop in Missouri Friday, the ever-antigay Rick Santorum said marriage is a “privilege” and that gay relationships do not benefit society in the same way as heterosexual ones.

The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, made the remarks while appearing at William Woods University in Fulton. He said, “Two people who may like each other or may love each other who are same-sex, is that a special relationship? Yes, it is, but it is not the same relationship that benefits society like a marriage between a man and a woman.” He went on to discuss problems experienced in single-parent homes, not explaining how that is relevant to allowing gay couples to marry. 

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