Signing the pledge entailed supporting a monogamous heterosexual definition of marriage, as well as backing a ban on pornography, abortion, and Sharia Law.
[1] One of the preambles to the pledge, drew massive amounts of criticism for claiming that children of slaves were more likely to live in a 2 parent household.
[3] House Speaker Pro-Tem Jeff Kaufmann said the pledge had "ridiculous implications", refused to sign, and told Plaats that his "integrity is in question" and "political credibility is waning to the point of no impact.
"[7] Former Iowa State Senator Jeff Angelo said "This pledge is an attempt to shut down dialogue between voters and the people vying to represent them.".
Rick Santorum was the first presidential candidate to contact The Family Leader after the organization publicly announced the pledge.