Ted Cruz Sparks Democrat Fury Over Gay Marriage Comments: ‘Disgrace’ – Newsweek

July 17, 2022 Kim Martel

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has sparked fury from Democrats for saying the Supreme Court was “clearly wrong” to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade last month raised alarm for some that it could lead to a rollback of the right for same-sex couples to marry.

In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said the decision applied only to abortion but in a separate concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas called for the court to review other precedents, including its 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges legalizing same-sex marriage and others that protect same-sex relationships and access to contraceptives.

Cruz, a Republican, echoed Thomas’ arguments on his podcast, saying the court’s decision in Obergefell was not correctly decided.

“Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history,” Cruz argued.

“Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell…some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.”

He added: “I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the court overreaching.”

On whether the court would overturn Obergefell, Cruz said he agreed with the court’s opinion in Dobbs that Roe was “qualitatively different” to other precedents because it “involves the taking of a human life.”

The comments led to his name trending on Twitter and several Democrats condemned Cruz on the social media platform.

“Such a disgrace to his adoptive state of Texas and our nation. Ted Cruz needs to go back to his birth nation of Canada,” Jennie Lou Leader, a Texas Democrat, tweeted.

Such a disgrace to his adoptive state of Texas and our nation. @tedcruz needs to go back to his birth nation of Canada

— Jennie Lou Leeder (@JennieLouLeeder) July 17, 2022

Amane Badhasso, a Democrat running for Congress to represent Minnesota’s 4th congressional district, wrote: “Ted Cruz is openly signaling that Republicans plan on going after Gay marriage next. Protect our LGBTQ+ community. #ExpandTheCourt. Now.”

Democratic strategist Atima Omara wrote: “Ted Cruz is trending because he said Obergefell v Hodges which made same sex marriage legal in the US was wrongly decided.

“Both Thomas and Alito basically said the same thing in the Roe draft opinion and official opinion. The GOP is not stopping at Roe, they never were.”

Ted Cruz is trending because he said Obergefell v Hodges which made same sex marriage legal in the US was wrongly decided.

Both Thomas and Alito basically said the same thing in the Roe draft opinion and official opinion. The GOP is not stopping at Roe, they never were https://t.co/v92QCjRYhJ

— Atima Omara (@atima_omara) July 16, 2022

Another Democratic strategist, Adam Parkhomenko, wrote: “Donald Trump called Ted Cruz’s wife ugly and Ted Cruz continued to kiss that Trump a**. This guy knows nothing about marriage or what it means to any human being.”

A spokesperson for Cruz noted that the senator had said on the podcast that he does not believes the court “has any appetite” for overturning Obergefell or the other cases cited by Thomas in his concurring opinion.

“You’ve got a ton of people who have entered into gay marriages and it would be more than a little chaotic for the court to do something that somehow disrupted those marriages that have been entered into in accordance with the law,” Cruz said on the podcast. “I think that would be a factor that would, would counsel restraint, that the court would be concerned about. But to be honest, I don’t think this court has any appetite for overturning any of these decisions.”

Update 7/18/22, 3:45 a.m. EDT: This article has been updated with comment from a spokesperson for Ted Cruz and Cruz’s podcast comments.