“His comments were inartful and disappointing. The 10th Amendment and states’ rights is very important to conservatives, but it’s not our highest value,” Bauer said. “There are some things so fundamentally wrong that we have not left those things up to the states.”

Bauer added, “The governor also seemed unaware that the threat we are facing is the same-sex laws of New York and Massachusetts being forced on the whole country. So I think he still has great potential, but I think it’s a sign that even if you are a governor, the transition to the presidential sweepstakes requires a lot of study and understanding the nuances of these issues.”

Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Iowa Family Leader, another conservative advocacy group, was slightly less critical but figured that Perry will want to clear up his comments.

“I hope it’s more of an education issue to understand this is going to a federal level,” he said, adding, “Many of us advocated for states’ rights and were big 10th Amendment people, but when it comes to things like whether its slavery, and abortion, or marriage, we’re not saying, ‘Well it’s OK to have slavery in Alabama but not Iowa.’ And our group wouldn’t say, ‘It’s OK to have abortion in the state of Washington but not in Iowa.’ Some things are right and some things are wrong, and especially when it comes to marriage, it’s a foundation block and a building block for society.”