Texas Senator Ted Cruz has stated that
the GOP should continue to oppose gay marriage, separating himself
from Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Cruz and Paul are often cited as
possible candidates for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
Last week, Paul called for a truce on
marriage equality within Republican ranks.
“I think that the Republican Party,
in order to get bigger, will have to agree to disagree on social
issues,” Paul told Vocativ.com.
“The Republican Party is not going to give up on having quite a
few people who do believe in traditional marriage. But the
Republican Party also has to find a place for young people and others
who don’t want to be festooned by those issues.”
When asked in Iowa whether he agrees
with Paul, Cruz told The
Des
Moines Register that he does not.
“Look, I am a conservative,” Cruz
said. “I'm a fiscal conservative. I'm a social conservative. I
think we've seen that in order for the Republican Party to succeed,
we need to be a big tent. … There are some who say the Republican
Party should no longer stand for life. I don't agree with that.
There are some who say the Republican Party should no longer stand
for traditional marriage. I don't agree with them, either.”
“I'll let him characterize his
views,” Cruz said of Paul. “What I can tell you is my views are
that we should continue to defend life and that we should continue to
defend traditional marriage.”