Republican presidential candidate Rick
Santorum has praised Kim Davis, the elected clerk of Rowan County,
Kentucky jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay and
lesbian couples.
Appearing Friday on CNN's New Day,
Santorum told host Chris Cuomo: “What Kim Davis did, in my opinion,
was heroic.”
“I commend her for standing up for
her principles. Putting her in jail is ridiculous. It is an extreme
position,” he
said.
A federal judge on Thursday found Davis
in contempt for refusing to comply with his ruling ordering her to
issue marriage licenses to all qualified couples. Rather than issue
marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court struck down
gay marriage bans in all 50 states, Davis stopped issuing marriage
licenses to all couples. Four couples, two of whom are gay, filed a
federal lawsuit. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene
in the case.
Deputy clerks issued
marriage licenses to six gay couples on Friday.
Santorum, an outspoken opponent of
marriage equality, said that the Supreme Court “acted
unconstitutionally” when it declared that gay couples have a
constitutional right to wed.
“Why are we putting someone in jail
because they have a religious exception?” he rhetorically asked.
(Related: Hundreds
rally in support of Kim Davis outside jail.)