Ted Cruz: Gay Adoption 'Should Be Left to the States'
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said at Thursday's GOP debate in Michigan that the legality of both same-sex marriage and gay adoption should be left up to the states.
Before a lively crowd at the Fox Theater in downtown Detroit, Cruz was asked by Fox News moderator Bret Baier his opinion on gay adoption.
The Republican presidential hopeful responded by noting his views on states' rights, as well as his opposition to last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide.
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"Well, listen, adoption is decided at the state level and I am a believer in the 10th Amendment in the Constitution, I would leave the question of marriage to the states, I would leave the question of adoption to the states," said Cruz.
"That's the way it has been for two centuries of our nation's history until five unelected judges in an illegitimate and wrong decision decided to seize the authority over marriage and wrongfully tear down the marriage laws of all 50 states."
Cruz's comments came as part of the Thursday evening GOP debate, the first to be held following the results of the Super Tuesday primary votes.
On the stage for the evening in addition to Cruz were billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Earlier this week, Cruz won three of the states involved in Super Tuesday: Alaska, Oklahoma, and the state he represents in the Senate, Texas.
The big winner on Tuesday was frontrunner Trump, who won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia.
Cruz's position on gay adoption was part of the "social issues" segment of the two-hour long debate, which touched upon religious liberty and Second Amendment issues.
During that segment Kasich, who in a previous debate advocated for businesses being compelled to service gay weddings, appeared to sidestep from his position, arguing he would prefer for gay couples to simply not sue Christian busisness owners in the first place.
"If you go to a photographer to take pictures at your wedding, and he says, I'd rather not do it, find another photographer, don't sue them in court. You know what, the problem is in our country — in our country, we need to learn to respect each other and be a little bit more tolerant for one another," stated Kasich.
"But at the end of the day, if somebody is being pressured to participate in something that is against their deeply-held religious beliefs, then we're going to have to think about dealing with the law. But you know what, I'd rather people figure this out without having to put another law on the books and have more arguments in this country."
