Sen. Ted Cruz said the Supreme Court was off base in 2015 for its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage and believes it should be reconsidered.
“I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided,” Cruz said on his podcast published Sunday, Verdict With Ted Cruz. “It was the court overreaching.
“Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history. 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.”
Cruz’s remarks come on the heels of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and determining there is no federal constitutional right to an abortion. Last month, Justice Clarence Thomas referred to the 2015 ruling as “demonstrably erroneous” and suggested the court revisit other rulings.
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Cruz has been a longtime opponent of same-sex marriage. He was vocal about his stance during a 2016 presidential run and at one point told NPR he planned for it to be the focal point of his campaign.
“The way the Constitution set up for you to advance that position is convince your fellow citizens, that if you succeeded in convincing your fellow citizens, then your state would change the laws to reflect those views,” Cruz said on the podcast. “In Obergefell, the court said, ‘No, we know better than you guys do, and now every state must, must sanction and permit gay marriage.'”
