What a rough week to be a member of the Grand Ol' Party. The same-sex marriage ruling created quite a stir within the politics of the presidential campaign. But the election is over a year away... How will the GOP responses to the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage affect the election results?
Jeb Bush
Bush is one of the most liberal candidates when it comes to same-sex marriage. Although he doesn’t believe in the concept, he stated after the ruling that he will not support any kind of appeal to the amendment. “It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate,” he said. He believes that the decision should have been left to the states.
Ted Cruz
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, the Texas senator said in the case of religious objection, county clerks should deny same-sex marriage licenses to couples looking to get married. “You look at the foundation of this country,” he said. “It was to seek out a new land where anyone of us could worship the Lord God Almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, without government getting in the way.”
Rand Paul
In an opinion piece for Time, Paul speaks about his disagreement about the ruling and more importantly, his opposition to the government being involved in any sort of religious affairs. “The Constitution was written by wise men who were raised up by God for that very purpose,” he said. “There is a reason ours was the first where rights came from our creator and therefore could not be taken away by government. Government was instituted to protect them.”
Ben Carson
Carson disagreed with the ruling, but like Bush, he accepted that it is now the law. Carson said, “The government must never force Christians to violate their religious beliefs.” Carson is a big supporter in continuing to fight for defending religious freedom.
Carly Fiorina
Fiorina posted on her Facebook page voicing her opinion on the matter. She does “not agree that the Court can or should redefine marriage.” She continued to state, like most other GOP candidates, that the main focus should be protecting the rights “for those Americans that profoundly disagree with today’s decision.”
Mike Huckabee
Huckabee might have been the most radical view of them all. He urged people to “resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.” In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Huckabee said that people who oppose the ruling should resist. On June 26th, Huckabee tweeted, “America can't bow to judicial tyranny on health care or gay marriage” and “This irrational, unconstitutional decision threatens religious liberty - the heart of 1st Amendment. Congress must act.”
