Texas Senator Ted Cruz has joined in
criticizing the actions of Houston attorneys defending the city's
gay-inclusive anti-discrimination law.
After opponents of the Houston Equal
Rights Ordinance (HERO) failed in an attempt to put the law on the
ballot in November, they filed a lawsuit claiming that city officials
had illegally rejected their petition for a public vote.
The city sent out subpoenas to several
pastors asking them to hand over “all speeches, presentations, or
sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker,
homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised
by, or approved by you or in your possession.”
Cruz slammed the move in a statement,
calling it “shocking and shameful.”
“This is wrong. It's unbefitting of
Texans, and it's un-American,” Cruz said. “The government has no
business asking pastors to turn over their sermons. These subpoenas
are a grotesque abuse of power, and the officials who approved them
should be held accountable by the people. The mayor should be
ashamed. And we should all be proud to stand up and defend the
pastors who are resisting these blatant attempts to suppress their
First Amendment rights.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Parker told
The Huffington Post that she was unaware of the request.
“The subpoenas were issued by pro
bono attorneys helping the city prepare for the trial regarding the
petition to repeal the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) in
January,” Evans said. “Neither the mayor nor City Attorney David
Feldman were aware the subpoenas had been issued until Tuesday. Both
agree the original documents were overly broad. The city will move
to narrow the scope during an upcoming court hearing. Attorney
Feldman says the focus should be only on communications related to
the HERO petition process.”
At a press conference to denounce the
subpoenas, Cruz said the city has no authority to “silence the
church.” And in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting
Network's (CBN) David Brody, Cruz agreed when asked whether the
government was attempting to silence pastors who oppose marriage
equality.
When Brody asked whether we'll “soon
go through a period where pastors are hauled off to jail for a hate
crime because they are speaking for traditional marriage,” Cruz
responded by saying, “I think that is a real risk and you and I
have both pointed to that risk in the past.”