GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz criticized a federal judge for ordering a Kentucky county clerk to be jailed after she defied the Supreme Court by refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
The Texas senator said he “unequivocal” stands with Kim Davis, who was put in federal custody for contempt after testifying before Judge David L. Bunning Thursday that marriage is between one man and one woman.
“Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny,” Mr. Cruz said in a statement. “Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America.”
Ms. Davis, a Christian, has maintained that she could not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on her religious beliefs.
Judge Bunning, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, said in court Thursday that Ms. Davis’s “good-faith belief is simply not a viable defense.”
“It’s not physically impossible for her to issue the licenses,” he said, The New York Times reported. “She’s choosing not to.”
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in June, sparking outrage from social and religious conservatives, as well as calls for a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
On Thursday. Mr. Cruz said the nation was founded on “Judeo-Christian values” and said it is hypocritical for elected officials to on the one hand argue that Ms. Davis should resign from her job, but on the other hand refuse to call for the mayor of San Francisco to step down for creating a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants.
“Where is the call for President Obama to resign for ignoring and defying our immigration laws, our welfare reform laws, and even his own Obamacare?” he said. “When the mayor of San Francisco and President Obama resign, then we can talk about Kim Davis.”
Other GOP presidential candidates also panned the decision.
“I think it is absurd to put someone in jail for exercising their religious liberty,” Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told CNN.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, in a statement, said that putting Ms. Davis in federal custody “removes all doubt of the criminalization of Christianity in our country.”
“This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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