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class="cell w-8 main_column"> <article class="last"> <header> <h1>Cruz: Clerks Should be Able to Opt Out of Gay Marriage Licenses</h1> <ul class="meta separator"><li class="byline"> by <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/patrick-svitek/" rel="author">Patrick Svitek</a></li><li><time datetime="Sat, 27 Jun 2015 18:28:48 -0500" title="2015-06-27 18:28"> June 27, 2015 </time></li><li class="comments"><a class="comments" href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/27/cruz-clerks-should-be-able-opt-out-gay-marriage-li/comments/"><span class="value">590</span><span class="label">Comments</span></a></li></ul> </header> <aside> <ul class="social_links"> <li class="comment"> <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/27/cruz-clerks-should-be-able-opt-out-gay-marriage-li/comments/" title=""> <i class="icon-comments-alt"></i> <span>Comment</span> </a> </li> <li class="republish"> <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/content/republish/88639/"> <i class="icon-share"></i> <span>Republish</span> </a> </li> <li class="email"> <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c8f7bbbdaaa2adabbcf59ca0adedfaf89cadb0a9bbedfaf89cbaa1aabda6adf2edfaf88bbabdb2edfb89edfaf88ba4adbaa3bbedfaf8edfafa89aabba7a4bdbcada4Xy%22%20Should%20Be%20Able%20to%20Opt%20Out%20of%20Gay%20Marriage%20Licenses&body=I%20read an article%20that%20you%20might%20be%20interested%20in%20at%20The%20Texas%20Tribune:%20Cruz%3A%20Clerks%20%22Absolutely%22%20Should%20Be%20Able%20to%20Opt%20Out%20of%20Gay%20Marriage%20Licenses%2C%20by%20Patrick Svitek.%20http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/27/cruz-clerks-should-be-able-opt-out-gay-marriage-li/%0DDES%20MOINES%2C%20Iowa%20%26mdash%3B%26nbsp%3BU.S.%20Sen.%26nbsp%3BTed%20Cruz%26nbsp%3Bon%20Saturday%20said%20county%20clerks%20in%20Texas%20should%20%22absolutely%22%20be%20able%20to%20opt%20out%20of%20issuing%20same-sex%20marriage%20licenses%20if%20they%20have%20religious%20objections." title="" class="email"> <i class="icon-envelope"></i> <span>Email</span> </a> </li> <li class="twitter"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035/http://twitter.com/share?text=Cruz: Clerks Should be Able to Opt Out of Gay Marriage Licenses&url=http://trib.it/1CBrZXM&via=TexasTribune&related=TexasTribune,TribData"> <i class="icon-twitter"></i> <span>Tweet</span> </a> </li> <li class="facebook"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035/http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/27/cruz-clerks-should-be-able-opt-out-gay-marriage-li/"> <i 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class="photo_caption">Ted Cruz at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on June 27, 2015.</div> </div> <p>DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Sen. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ted-cruz/">Ted Cruz</a> on Saturday said county clerks in Texas should "absolutely" be able to opt out of issuing same-sex marriage licenses if they have religious objections.</p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"Ours is a country that was built by men and women fleeing religious oppression," Cruz said in an interview with The Texas Tribune, "and you look at the foundation of this country — it was to seek out a new land where anyone of us could worship the Lord God Almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, without government getting in the way." </span></p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">The interview followed a major speech here in which he eviscerated the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision Friday to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states. </span></p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"We should respect diversity and tolerance," Cruz added. "There is this liberal intolerance and fascism that seeks to force Bible-believing Christians to violate their faith, and I think it makes no sense."</span></p> <p>Cruz's comments came a day after Lt. Gov. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/directory/dan-patrick/">Dan Patrick</a> asked Attorney General <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/">Ken Paxton</a> for an opinion on whether county clerks and justices of the peace can refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses or perform same-sex weddings. Texas already has a law in effect that protects clergy members who refuse to perform gay weddings due to their religious beliefs. </p> <p><span style="line-height: 1.35;">"There’s no right in society to force a Jewish rabbi to perform a Christian wedding ceremony," Cruz said Saturday. "There’s no right in society to force a Muslim imam to perform a Jewish wedding ceremony." </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Cruz, like many Republicans, has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling by raising potential consequences for religious freedom, such as whether a baker should be forced to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple if he has religious objections. On Saturday, Cruz declined to say whether the issues of religious liberty were urgent enough to warrant a special session of the Texas Legislature, a demand of some social conservatives. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Look, I’m going to leave questions of state law and governance to our elected leaders there," Cruz said. "The last thing they need is a federal officeholder sticking his nose into matters of state legislation."</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150629072035if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2zfpvZHyFo" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p><div class="ad_container ad_container--adify"> <div class="ad adunit mobile tablet standard" data-adunit="TexasTribune_Content_StoryPage_InsideStory_468x60"> </div> </div> </div> <aside> <ul class="social_links"> <li class="comment"> <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/27/cruz-clerks-should-be-able-opt-out-gay-marriage-li/comments/" title=""> <i class="icon-comments-alt"></i> <span>Comment</span> </a> </li> <li class="republish"> <a href="/web/20150629072035/http://www.texastribune.org/content/republish/88639/"> <i class="icon-share"></i> <span>Republish</span> </a> </li> <li class="email"> <a 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