Republican presidential candidate Ted
Cruz on Thursday told an audience of social conservatives to pray
that the Supreme Court doesn't strike down gay marriage bans.
The high court's current term ends on
Tuesday, and it is expected to hand down a ruling in a case
challenging bans in four states on or before that date. The court's
decision could strike down the nation's 13 remaining bans, leading to
nationwide marriage equality.
“Religious liberty is under assault,”
Texas' junior senator told members of the Faith and Freedom
Coalition.
“I would encourage everyone here to
be lifting up in prayer the court that they not engage in an act of
naked and lawless judicial activism, tearing down the marriage laws
adopted pursuant to the constitution,” Cruz
said.
Cruz also touched on recent
controversies in Indiana and Arkansas where governors backtracked on
their support for legislation that critics said would allow
businesses to discriminate against gay men and lesbians.
“Today's Democratic Party, aided by
their friends in the media, and aided even more by big business that
decided it was good business to throw Christians overboard and
abandon religious liberty, pounded upon leaderships there,” he
said.
“I'll tell you what was saddest: Just
how many Republicans ran for the hills. More than a few Republicans,
sadly even more than a few Republicans running for president in 2015,
chose that moment somehow to go and rearrange their sock drawer,”
Cruz added.