I got the chance to talk with Senator Rick Santorum at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) gala last Thursday night.

Santorum was the keynote speaker and spoke at length about the need to defend marriage and religious liberty, especially after the Supreme Court’s decision to invent a constitutional right to marriage in June.

I asked the Senator to sum up his thoughts in 30 seconds.

Schweppe: “Senator, so some of the GOP elite and some of your fellow presidential candidates have said that it’s time to ‘move on’ from the issue of marriage. What do you say to them?”

Santorum: “I would say I have a question for you. Why are you running for President? You admit that this is a decision that is beyond the rights of the court to decide and it’s beyond the constitutional — beyond the authority of the Supreme Court. You admit that this is an assault on religious liberty and the First Amendment. And you admit that this is going to be destructive to the family unit, which is the building basic block of society, yet you say move on? I have to ask, why are you running?”

Jon Schweppe is Deputy Director of Communications for American Principles in Action.