Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican,
has accused President Barack Obama of leading the “most hostile to
traditional marriage administration this country has ever seen.”
Cruz and Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, last
week introduced the State Marriage Defense Act, which seeks to
protect states from any federal efforts to recognize the marriages of
gay and lesbian couples.
The legislation appears to be a
response to Attorney General Eric Holder's Saturday announcement that
the Justice Department will treat the marriages of gay couples –
regardless of where they live – as being equal to those of their
straight counterparts.
(Related: Eric
Holder: Justice to treat marriages of gay couples equally.)
“One of the really sad trends we've
seen in recent years has been a concerted attack on traditional
marriage and that attack has manifested in the courts of law as
advocacy groups have used litigation to tear down the marriage laws
of states across this country,” Cruz said during an appearance on
WallBuilders
Live. “But it's also manifested from the federal government,
with the Obama administration – this administration is the most
hostile to traditional marriage administration this country has ever
seen.”
In a separate radio appearance, Cruz
told Janet Mefferd that the actions of marriage equality advocates
are “heartbreaking” and urged listeners to pray against same-sex
marriage.
“I think the most important thing
your listeners can do is simply pray, because we need a great deal of
prayer because marriage is really being undermined by a concerted
effort and it's causing significant harm,” Cruz
said.