Romney hopes gay marriage won’t be used to raise money

A day after President Obama unleashed a torrent of emotions on both sides, with his declaration of support for gay marriage, Mitt Romney reiterated his long-held belief that only a man and woman can enter into marriage, and that there should be a national standard to enforce it.

As email inboxes filled with fundraising pitches from Democrats, Republicans and special interest groups using the gay marriage issue to inspire donations, Romney said he hoped the issue would not be used to raise money.

Obama expects to raise $15 million at a fundraiser Thursday night in Los Angeles at the Studio City home of actor George Clooney, a total bolstered by online donations.

“Are you getting anything like that from your folks?” asked Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, who interviewed Romney Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t think the matter of marriage is really a fundraising matter either for the president, and certainly is not for me,” said Romney, who, for the second time that day, apologized for high school pranks that went “too far” and denied harassing a high school classmate because he was gay.

“I hope the issue -- as tender and sensitive as the marriage issue is -- is not a source of fundraising for either of us.”

Romney said he didn’t know whether his stance on the issue would help or hinder his campaign.

“I don’t know there’s a calculation of which positions are gonna help and which are going to hurt politically,” he said. “I think you have positions, you describe what they are.

“But I know for many people, the issue of marriage is going to be a defining issue, and they’ll make a decision on that basis. That’s their right. But you don’t change positions to win a state or a certain subgroup of Americans. You have the positions you have.”

robin.abcarian@latimes.com