2016 Presidential Hopeful Ted Cruz Warns Democrats, Republicans Afraid to Protect Religious Liberty

2016 presidential hopeful Ted Cruz recently suggested that some members of the GOP party are afraid to defend religious liberty in the same-sex marriage debate, suggesting that some of his fellow presidential runners are afraid to voice their opposition to same-sex marriage.

While speaking at the Watchmen on the Wall conference hosted by the Family Research Council, Cruz, a Senator from Texas, suggested that several democrats and republicans shy away from protecting religious liberty, instead choosing to always side with the gay rights agenda.

Cruz used the example of the recent conflict over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, arguing that although it was very similar to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by Bill Clinton, many Democrats and Republicans have opposed the new legislation for fear of reprimand from same-sex marriage proponents.

"The modern Democratic Party, working hand-in-hand with big business, decided their allegiance to gay marriage trumps any devotion to religious liberty," he said at the conference, as reported by The Christian Post. 

"I'm going to tell you something that was even sadder was just how many Republicans ran for the hills," the presidential hopeful added. 

Cruz has previously spoken out against the legalization of same-sex marriage, telling radio talk show host Eric Metaxas in a recent interview that "mandatory gay marriage" may soon be on its way with an upcoming Supreme Court ruling that would possibly overturn statewide bans on same-sex marriage.

"The modern Democratic Party," he told Metaxas, "has gotten so radical and so extreme in its devotion to mandatory gay marriage that they've decided there's no room for the religious liberty protected under the First Amendment."