Appearing to weigh in on the Kim Davis issue, President Barack Obama spoke out against using religious liberty as a sword.
President Barack Obama Sunday night voiced thinly-veiled opposition to Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis‘ refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. At a New York City fundraiser for the DNC, the President told about 500 supporters that one person’s claim of religious liberty is not a license to deny another person’s civil rights.
“We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions,” Pres. Obama said.
“But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn’t grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights,” He continued, respectfully. “And that even as we are respectful and accommodating genuine concerns and interests of religious institutions, we need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes. That’s not how we move America forward.”
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The President at that event also attacked several GOP presidential candidates, mocking their anti-gay rhetoric, and saying America needs to “reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes.”
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Image by Ash Carter via Flickr and a CC license