Mitt Romney on Families & Children Former Republican Governor (MA); presidential nominee-apparent

Impact of same-sex marriage on kids won't be known for years

ROMNEY: I think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. And I think the ideal setting for raising a child is in the setting where there's a father and a mother. Now there're many other different settings that children are raised in and people have the right to live their life as they want to. But I think marriage should be defined in the way that it's been defined for several thousand years and if gay couples want to live together, well, that's fine as well.

Q: But do you think it's had a negative impact on society?

ROMNEY: Oh, I think it's going to take a long, long time to determine whether having gay marriage will make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there is a mom and a dad. That's not going to happen overnight. It's something which happens over generations.

Two-parent families reduce violence on the streets

ROMNEY: Good schools, to give people the hope and opportunity they deserve, and perhaps less violence from that. But let me mention another thing. And that is parents. We need moms and dads helping raise kids. Wherever possible, the benefit of having two parents in the home--and that's not always possible. A lot of great single moms, single dads. But gosh, to tell our kids that before they have babies they ought to think about getting married to someone, that's a great idea, because if there's a two-parent family, the prospect of living in poverty goes down dramatically. The opportunities that the child will be able to achieve increase dramatically. So, we can make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away from violence and give them opportunity and bring them in the American system.

No "storybook marriage"; just family & faith

A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage. I know this good and decent man for what he is--warm and loving and patient.

He has tried to live his life with a set of values centered on family, faith, and love of one's fellow man. From the time we were first married, I've seen him spend countless hours helping others, and been there when late-night calls of panic came from a member of our church whose child had been taken to the hospital.

You may not agree with Mitt's positions on issues or his politics. But let me say this to every American who is thinking about who should be our next President: No one will work harder. No one will care more.

Newt Gingrich's Family Values compared to Mitt's

Mitt vs. Newt on Social Issues

• Federal Abortion Laws
• Stem Cells
• Judicial Activism
• Welfare State
• Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell
• Defense of Marriage Act
• Affirmative Action
• College Loans
• School Vouchers
• Department of Education
• School Prayer
• Fathers In Families
• Tea Party
• Religious Values
• American Exceptionalism
• Conservative Values

Abstinence-only education for 12-to-14 year olds

1983: Urged single mom to put up baby for adoption

Hayes was deeply insulted. She told him she would never surrender her child. Romney would later deny that he had threatened Hayes with excommunication, but Hayes said his message was crystal clear: "Give up your son, or give up your God."

1996: Staff searched full-time to find runaway teenage girl

Romney later said that the search had changed his perspective on life. When Bain Capital ranked its annual accomplishments, the search for Melissa was number one. He said he would never forget talking with runaways in an effort to learn about Melissa's whereabouts. "It was a shocker," said Romney, who had rarely walked into the urban underbelly of America. "The number of lost souls was astounding." The search had put Bain into the public eye in a way that was unusual for the private firm.

Polygamy violates marriage covenant

But Romney's own modern family story begins in the defiant polygamist settlements of northern Mexico in the late 1800s. He is only one generation away from the polygamist family of his grandmother, Anna Pratt Romney, whose father, Helaman Pratt, was married to 12 wives.

Does Romney consider his ancestors "awful" and abhorrent? Does he not acknowledge that polygamy was presented as an eternal truth of God by a revelation? All this leads many to ask the question, "Who is the real Mitt Romney?" I would argue that no one will truly understand Mitt Romney until they embrace the fact that his core identity is his Mormon heritage and faith.

Kids working in libraries is fine; don't change labor laws

GINGRICH: I think virtually every person up here worked at a young age. What I suggested was, kids ought to be allowed to work part-time in school, particularly in the poorest neighborhoods, both because they could use the money. Janitors who are unionized are paid more than the teachers. You take half of those janitors, you could give lots of poor kids a work experience in the cafeteria and the school library and front office. I'll stand by the idea, young people ought to learn how to work. Middle class kids do it routinely. We should give poor kids the same chance to pursue happiness.

ROMNEY: To have kids work in the library and to help out in school and to clean the blackboards does not require changing our child labor laws in this country. We of course should encourage more kids to [do that].

The Worst Generation precludes children from American Dream

Avoiding the fate of becoming "the wors generation" won't be easy, particularly given how long we've been on a collision course with debt and decline. But I'm convinced it will be worth it if we face this stark truth: The debts & financial obligations we are on track to leave the next generations will be so huge that they will preclude our children from achieving the American dream. Never before has there been a generation of Americans that has imperiled the following generations' opportunity for achievement & advance as we have done.

Child development enhanced by having a mother & father

The development of a child is enhanced by having a mother and father. Such a family is the ideal for the future of the child and for the strength of a nation. I wonder how it is that unelected judges, like some in my state of Massachusetts, are so unaware of this reality, so oblivious to the millennia of recorded history. It is time for the people of America to fortify marriage through Constitutional amendment, so that liberal judges cannot continue to attack it.

FactCheck: Teenage birth rate declined from 1991 to 2005

Strong military, strong economy, and strong families

To strengthen America, strengthen the American family