Sen. Ted Cruz, the only formally announced candidate so far for the 2016 Presidential race, spoke at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa yesterday, focusing on religious liberty and same-sex marriage. According to the
Dallas Morning News, Cruz told his audience: "Religious liberty is not some fringe view. It is the basis of this country," He praised the recent action of the Indiana legislature in enacting its controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, saying:
We’re seeing in the news right now a lot of noise because the state of Indiana bravely stood up and passed a law defending religious liberty.
Criticizing Democrats and gay-rights activists, he added:
Because of their partisan desire to mandate gay marriage everywhere in this country, they also want to persecute anyone who has a good faith religious belief that marriage is a holy sacrament, the union of one man and one woman and ordained as a covenant by God.
Expressing concern over what the Supreme Court might rule this June in the same-sex marriage cases before it, he told his audience:
The first thing and I think the most important thing every one of us can do, is pray. Lift up in prayer.
Cruz said that if the Court legalizes same-sex marriage, he will urge Congress to pass legislation stripping courts of jurisdiction over the issue. He said that a ruling by the Court legalizing same-sex marriage would be "fundamentally illegitimate." Cruz favors a Constitutional amendment that would leave the issue to the states.
