Santorum talks marriage during bus tour

CEDAR RAPIDS - Marriage was the hot topic at a meeting with 2012 presidential hopeful and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum Wednesday morning.

 He spoke with a small crowd at the Cedar Rapids Marriott.

The meeting is part of a  four-day Family Values bus tour involving several GOP presidential hopefuls.

They're covering about 1,300 miles and 22 cities to discuss values with voters.

Santorum shared his pro-life, pro-traditional marriage views with the audience.

The presidential candidate relates a healthy, traditional family life to a healthy economy.

"Families and children do better when you have stable, one man, one woman relationship and if that institution of marriage is broken down, the family break down and the economy breaks down. It's just harder," Santorum said.A few silent protesters showed up to oppose Santorum's stance.

They held signs with messages of support for gay marriage.