Jeb Bush offered strong words to conservatives today at a conference where he promised to never stop fighting against the civil rights of gay people and to support the religious right’s fight to do so.
Jeb Bush says no matter how the Supreme Court rules in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that will soon decide the future of marriage for same-sex couples in America, he will continue to fight against the legal civil rights of same-sex couples and LGBT people.
“It’s got to be important over the long haul, irrespective of what the courts say,†the Republican 2016 presidential candidate told conservatives today at Ralph Reed‘s Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C.
“In a country like ours we should recognize the power of a man and a woman loving their children with all their heart and soul as a good thing, as something that is positive and helpful for those children to live a successful life,†the 62-year old former Florida governor said.
Bush, ignoring the millions of children currently being successfully raised by same-sex parents, also took the opportunity to equate civil rights for LGBT people with an attack on Christians and religious liberty.
“We need to make sure that we protect the right not just of having religious views, but the right of acting on those religious views. Conscience should also be respected for people of faith who want to take a stand for traditional marriage.â€
The New York Times, which reported on Bush’s remarks, notes that he “has not yet addressed a question that seems likely to divide Republicans if the Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex couples: Should there be renewed push for a constitutional amendment that limits marriage to one man and one woman?”
Ralph Reed is the former, and disgraced, executive director of the Christian Coalition, which is in part responsible for the rise to power of the evangelical religious right today.
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Image by GA Faith & Freedom via Twitter