American Principles Project and Heritage Action for America are urging the Republican presidential candidates to not forget about their social conservative values. On Thursday, the two conservative groups asked the GOP candidates to sign the First Amendment Defense Act to protect the religious freedom of Christians across America who believe in traditional marriage.
“If elected, I pledge to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) and sign it into law during the first 100 days of my term as President,” the pledge reads.
The Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson, who recently wrote a book called Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, explains why FADA is so important in today’s post Obergelle v. Hodges culture.
Respecting religious liberty in public life is particularly important. After all, as First Lady Michelle Obama put it, religion “isn’t just about showing up on Sunday for a good sermon and good music and a good meal. It’s about what we do Monday through Saturday as well.”[4] And that’s precisely why FADA protects the rights of individuals and the associations they form—small businesses and charities, schools, and social services—to speak and act in accordance with their belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman in the public square and the marketplace.
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Six candidates have so far agreed to sign the pledge.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida)
Dr. Ben Carson
Carly Fiorina
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania)
Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas)
Last week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) launched a campaign called “About” promising to stand up for traditional values voters who are unfairly branded as bigots and haters.
Will he and his opponents continue to look toward their social conservative base as the election season progresses?
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