Ted Cruz Father Says 'God Supports the Death Penalty'
Rafael Cruz, an evangelical pastor and the father of Texas junior Senator Ted Cruz, recently spoke on issues that included gun control, gay marriage, the death penalty and President Barack Obama while speaking at a pro-second amendment rights event in Oklahoma.
Cruz, a Cuban-born evangelical pastor based in North Texas at the Purifying Fire Ministries, said at an event on November 4 at the Spirit Life Church Fellow Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma that the practice of the death penalty is supported in the bible. Cruz spoke alongside Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, at a breakfast event sponsored by the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association [OK2A] and the Tulsa 9.12 Project, a pro-minimal government control group.
"You know, the bible is so clear," Cruz told the crowd. "Go to Genesis chapter nine and you will find the death penalty clearly stated in Genesis chapter nine [...] God ordains the death penalty!" Cruz proclaimed to the crowd during his 45 minute talk.
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Cruz also went on to discuss gun control and mass shootings in America's schools, as seen through the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that took place in December 2012 in Newtown, Conn. Cruz argued that what America needs is not greater gun control, but rather to enable teachers to carry concealed weapons on campus.
"Look at all the massacres that we've had in the last year or two that the left is using to try to tell us that we need to control guns. Every one of those was in a gun-free zone," Cruz exclaimed.
"You want to eliminate school massacres? Have the teachers carry [guns]!" Cruz added. The evangelical pastor also went on to discuss his support for traditional marriage and his disapproval of President Obama.
The elder Cruz has been known for expressing his conservative viewpoints on hot button topics such as gay marriage and politics. He said in a previous talk to the Grassroots America We The People group that he believes Americans need to "start being biblically correct instead of politically correct" when addressing issues such as gay marriage and abortion.
Cruz is the father of Republican junior Senator Ted Cruz, a politician who openly identifies with the Tea Party movement and who may be a potential presidential runner in the 2016 election. A Cruz spokesman previously told Mother Jones that "Like many Americans, [Pastor Cruz] feels America is on the wrong track," adding that "Pastor Cruz does not speak for the senator."
