U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is advocating against legislation in the Senate that would protect existing same-sex marriages but would not ensure same-sex couples could marry in their state if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down its own 2015 Obergefell ruling – which far-right Justice Clarence Thomas is urging his fellow jurists to do.
The bill, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to attach to a must-pass spending bill to ensure it also passes, would merely say governments at the federal, state, and local levels must recognize any marriage of a same-sex couples if it was legal and valid when and where they married.
So if Texas bans same-sex marriage at some point in the future were the Supreme Court to strike down Obergefell, married couples will still be legally married, but couples wanting to marry would have to travel to a state that has not banned marriage equality.
In other words, it ensures the status quo remains the same.
READ MORE: Susan Collins Slams Schumer as Dems Move to Codify Same-Sex Marriage Protections Into Law
Not according to the Texas Republican Senator who is claiming – falsely – if the bill passes there would be “massive consequences across our country,” as The Texas Tribune reports.
“This bill without a religious liberty protection would have massive consequences across our country, weaponizing the Biden administration to go and target universities, K-12 schools, social service organizations, churches and strip them all of their tax-exempt status,” Cruz said falsely Tuesday on his podcast, called, “Verdict.”
Cruz did not address people of faith whose religions support marriage equality.
Last month Cruz made clear he opposed the Obergefell ruling, calling it “clearly wrong.”
That Cruz is lying should come as no surprise.
Politifact has fact-checked a whopping 155 statements made by Cruz. Slightly less than one-third (51 statements) were some degree of true, meaning True, Mostly True, or Half True.
104, about two-thirds, were some degree of false: Mostly False (46 or 29%), False (47 or 30%), or Pants on Fire (11, or 7%).