Camille Solberg, one of the leaders in Wisconsin for the marriage amendment last fall, was hired by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign for president recently. Romney now opposes gay marriage, but was a supporter of gay rights when running for the U.S. Senate in 1994.
Solberg served as president of the Wisconsin Coalition for Traditional Marriage. She is also editor of the Wisconsin Christian News, according to a Romney campaign release.
""She has been a leader in defending traditional marriage and strengthening the traditional family,"" Romney said in a statement.
Solberg will help mobilize Hispanic and social conservative voters in the next election, according to an e-mail from Romney spokesperson Alex Burgos.
""He acted to promote a culture of life, defend traditional marriage and strengthen the family,"" Solberg said in a statement on Romney's record as a social conservative.
This seems to contradict what Romney wrote in a 1994 letter to the gay Republican group the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts.
""We seek to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens,"" Romney wrote, ""I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent [on this issue].""
Gay rights are civil rights, according to Romney in the letter. He said he supported the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hopes gays will one day be able to serve openly in the military.
""We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern,"" Romney said in the letter.
Video clips of statements similar to these are also available YouTube. The videos are of a 1994 debate Romney had with U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
In 2005, Romney said many different settings could raise children, yet he made a distinction about traditional marriage, according to the Boston Globe.
""We choose to recognize one setting as the ideal,"" Romney said.
Burgos said in a recent e-mail that Romney has championed traditional marriage and favors a federal amendment to protect it.
Madison Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, former Chair of Students for a Fair Wisconsin, said students will be very interested in seeing who takes what side on LGBT issues in the 2008 Presidential election. Judge said if the Romney campaign is willing ""to destroy lives to get votes,"" they will have to live with the consequences. Students voted 85 percent against the marriage ban in record numbers, according to Judge.
Burgos and Solberg were unavailable for comment as of press time.
