I don't want my marriage to be used to legalize bigotry while hiding behind religion. I want a leader who can stand up for all Americans. Is there one out there?
This week on ABC's Good Morning America, I asked a simple question to Ted Cruz. His response made me even more fearful of him if he were to be the Republican nominee. My question was simple: "I'm a life-long Republican and I've been married to my husband for a couple years. I've noticed states passing so called 'religious freedom' laws. How would you as President protect me and my husband from institutionalize discrimination?"
His response was simple -- or at least should have been: "Todd, you and your husband deserve respect and protection under the law. As President, I will be President for all Americans, and while I may disagree with you..." This would make sense. Here, I am a man in a nationally televised town hall coming out to the world as gay and -- maybe even harder -- as a Republican in NYC. Great moment for Ted to show compassion, leadership and unity.
Sadly, this was not his answer. His instincts did not take this as a leadership opportunity. Instead, he went into his typical savant mode of "constitution stuff."
I thought for a second he didn't hear my question fully. Maybe he just heard the buzzword about "religious freedom"? Like a dog with a bone, a politician loves a hot-button buzzword to rally behind. But after both hosts George Stephanopoulos and Robbin Roberts pressed him, he -- as the very principled man he is -- kept doubling down on his "constitution stuff" belief.
What did Ted say exactly? You can watch the video for that here:
What I heard was this: Ted's definition of "religious freedom" places religion above the law. In effect, these laws give some people de facto permission to ignore some laws and remove civil rights from others.
There is something very simple here to understand and something that we should all support: "Religious freedom" is not a sword used to impose intolerance, but a shield to save us from it. The religious freedom that helped found our nation was thoughtfully designed to give us the freedom to worship as we choose (or not) AND to be free from the religious zealotry that our Founding Fathers fled.
I am Catholic, or last I checked I was raised as one. Is Ted Cruz's definition of "religious freedom" protecting my religious beliefs of acceptance, tolerance and love over hatred and bigotry? I worry that his version of "religious freedom" only protects the religious right, but does not protect me, nor my husband and certainly not most Americans.
This is really part of a bigger issue about stepping on some people's rights to suit their political needs and we must stop it. I'd encourage Senator Cruz to reach out to the Secular Coalition for America for a definition of "religious freedom" that is consistent with what our Founders intended -- one that is inclusive to people of all faiths and to people of none. The separation of church and state is a nonpartisan issue and SCA is our nation's leading secular advocacy organization on the subject.