Here’s What Every 2016 Candidate Has to Say About LGBT SCOTUS Victory

Matt WilsteinJun 26th, 2015, 11:28 am
 


With the Supreme Court’s historic ruling that effectively legalizes same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the 2016 presidential candidates really have no choice today but to comment on the decision from one angle of another. Here’s what they had to say.

Hillary Clinton was quick out of the gate with a personal statement, followed by a rebranding of her campaign logo that has already been retweeted more than 20,000 times:

Jeb Bush released a statement calling for “love” and “respect” while at the same time denouncing the court’s decision:

“Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision. I also believe that we should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments. In a country as diverse as ours, good people who have opposing views should be able to live side by side. It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) offered up his supportive statement on Twitter:

As indicated in previous comments, Mike Huckabee used his statement to call on Congress to act in the face of the Supreme Court’s “irrational, unconstitutional decision.”

“The Supreme Court has spoken with a very divided voice on something only the Supreme Being can do-redefine marriage. I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.

“This ruling is not about marriage equality, it’s about marriage redefinition. This irrational, unconstitutional rejection of the expressed will of the people in over 30 states will prove to be one of the court’s most disastrous decisions, and they have had many. The only outcome worse than this flawed, failed decision would be for the President and Congress, two co-equal branches of government, to surrender in the face of this out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny.”

“The Supreme Court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature’s God on marriage than it can the law of gravity. Under our Constitution, the court cannot write a law, even though some cowardly politicians will wave the white flag and accept it without realizing that they are failing their sworn duty to reject abuses from the court. If accepted by Congress and this President, this decision will be a serious blow to religious liberty, which is the heart of the First Amendment.”

Rick Santorum called on “the people” to fight back against the “5 unelected judges” who ruled in favor of gay rights:

Ben Carson affirmed that he “disagrees” with the ruling, but unlike some of his fellow Republicans, called it the “law of the land.”

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) accused the court of following “public opinion polls” instead of the rule of law:

“The Supreme Court decision today conveniently and not surprisingly follows public opinion polls, and tramples on states’ rights that were once protected by the 10th Amendment of the Constitution. Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that.

This decision will pave the way for an all out assault against the religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree with this decision. This ruling must not be used as pretext by Washington to erode our right to religious liberty.

The government should not force those who have sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage to participate in these ceremonies. That would be a clear violation of America’s long held commitment to religious liberty as protected in the First Amendment.

I will never stop fighting for religious liberty and I hope our leaders in D.C. join me.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) also said his “disagrees” but added that we “must abide by the law”:

As a “proud defender of traditional marriage,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he “respects” the court’s decision. He said he would not push for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reverse it:

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) called the decision a “grave mistake” and did call for a constitutional amendment that would allow states to ban same-sex marriage:

Carly Fiorina essentially said she agrees with the underlying ideas of the ruling, but does not like that the court “redefined” marriage:

Rick Perry reaffirmed his belief in “traditional marriage” and denied that the court has a constitutional ability to legalize same-sex marriage in all states:

“I am disappointed the Supreme Court today chose to change the centuries old definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. I’m a firm believer in traditional marriage, and I also believe the 10th Amendment leaves it to each state to decide this issue. I fundamentally disagree with the court rewriting the law and assaulting the 10th Amendment. Our founding fathers did not intend for the judicial branch to legislate from the bench, and as president, I would appoint strict Constitutional conservatives who will apply the law as written.”

Martin O’Malley reminded voters that he was in charge when Maryland passed marriage equality:

Lincoln Chafee kept things short and sweet:

And Donald Trump used the decision to attack Jeb Bush:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and George Pataki have not yet commented on the ruling.

UPDATE — 6:28 p.m. ET: In a radio interview with Sean Hannity, Ted Cruz said of both major Supreme Court decisions this week, “Today is some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history.”

Listen to audio below, via The Sean Hannity Show:

[Photo via Flickr/Ted Eytan]

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