Mat Staver, head of the Christian
conservative Liberty Counsel, declared last week that signing a
pledge to defy a Supreme Court ruling striking down state bans on gay
marriage would be a litmus test for all presidential candidates.
Republican presidential hopefuls Rick
Santorum and Mike Huckabee have signed the pledge, promising to
“stand together in defense of marriage” because allowing
nationwide same-sex marriage would “undermine the fundamental
rights of children and threatens their security, stability and
future.”
Appearing on Newmax's American Forum
to discuss the issue, Staver, a co-author of the pledge, said that
pledging to defy the possible ruling would be a litmus test for all
presidential hopefuls.
“We're going to ask every
presidential candidate – Republican and Democrat – to sign on to
this pledge and it's going to be very telling if they don't,”
Staver
said.
However, Hillary Clinton, the only
announced Democratic candidate, included an engaged gay couple in her
announcement
video and has called on the Supreme
Court to “come down on the side of same-sex couples being
guaranteed” the constitutional right to marry. Other hopefuls,
including former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and former Rhode
Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, are strong supporters of marriage
equality.