Last updated on: 3/11/2016 12:28:05 PM PST
Should Religious Liberty Give People the Right to Deny Goods and Services for Gay Marriage?
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Con (No)
Con
"Sad this new Indiana law [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act] can happen in America today. We shouldn't discriminate against ppl bc of who they love."
Source: Hillary Clinton, Twitter post, twitter.com, Mar. 26, 2015
[Editor's Note: Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed into law on Mar. 26, 2015, allows individuals and companies to claim a "substantial burden" to their exercise of religion as a defense in court. This allows a business owner to deny services to gay people if the business owner's religion objects to homosexuality or gay marriage.]
Con
"[Interviewer:] Do you personally support law that would prohibit discrimination in the workplace or towards customers? I mean, if a Christian bakery wants to deny a gay couple from making a wedding cake for them, should they be allowed to?
[Gary Johnson:] Oh boy. That's a, you know, let's equate it, let's equate it to civil rights and say no. That this has to be an awareness and there has to be consequences to discrimination. And there should not be discrimination. This is America."
Source: jeff4justice, “Gay Johnson on Anti-Gay Discrimination,” youtube.com, Nov. 19, 2014
Con
"OnTheIssues: What do you think of businesses claiming 'Religious Freedom' to oppose gay rights?...
[Stein] We need to be about freedom for everybody. We need to uphold the law of the land - everybody's freedom needs to be respected - if your freedom means dominating someone else, then you don't get it - businesses cannot discriminate based on gender or religion or lack thereof - businesses are public entities that exist in the public marketplace and need to respect the dignity and human rights of everyone, period."
Source: On the Issues, "Jill Stein on Civil Rights," ontheissues.org, July 6, 2015
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Not Clearly Pro or Con
"Religious liberty is so important."
Source: Alex Swoyer, "'I'm One of You': Donald Trump Vows to Protect Christians, Religious Liberty," breitbart.com, Sep. 19, 2015
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"The first amendment is incredibly important. It talks about freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, but freedom of religion. And we have got to encourage all the branches of the government to work effectively with checks and balances. What we’ve seen recently is the legislative branch, which is the branch that represents we the people, has more or less been acting like the peanut gallery, which means that the executive branch and the judicial branch are overstepping their boundaries and we're going to have to have a president who is willing to work with the legislative branch to put things back in order again. Specifically, we need legislation to protect religious freedoms of people who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman."
Source: President A 2016, "Full Speech: Ben Carson at Liberty University Convocation (11-11-15)," youtube.com, Nov. 11, 2015
Pro
"[W]hat we should not be doing is persecuting people who follow their faith...
[Dick and Betty Odgaard] own a historic Lutheran church. For many years they hosted weddings in their church. A couple years ago, two men came wanting their same-sex wedding ceremony in their church. Now the Odgaards are devout Mennonites. And so they respectfully explained it would be contrary to their faith for them to celebrate in their church a wedding that was contrary to their religious beliefs and teaching… They were driven out of business. This month they laid off their employees. That is fundamentally wrong…
We are a country that respects pluralism and diversity. And there is this liberal intolerance that says that anyone that dares follow a biblical teaching of marriage, that is the union of one man and one woman, must be persecuted, must be fined, and must be driven out of business."
Source: Thomas Valentine, "Ted Cruz vs. Ellen Page: Who Did the Grilling? (Video)," thepulse2016.com, Aug. 24, 2015
Pro
"I think the fundamental question in some of these laws is should someone be discriminated against because of their religious views. So no one is saying here that it should be legal to deny someone service at a restaurant or a hotel because of their sexual orientation...
The flip side of it is: should a photographer be punished for refusing to do a wedding that their faith teaches them is not one that is valid in the eyes of God...
Should someone who provides a professional service be punished by the law because they refuse to provide that professional service to a ceremony that that they believe is in violation of their faith? I think people have a right to live out their religious faith in their own lives."
Source: Cheryl Chumley, "Marco Rubio: I Stand with Indiana," wnd.com, Mar. 31, 2015
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Con (No)
Con
"We have a system of laws in this country, and those laws need to be followed. And the fact is, religious organizations should be protected from having to do anything that violates their religious beliefs as a religious organization. That should be protected.
But other businesses who want to do business, they should have to be able to do business under the laws of our country. When I take an oath of office as Governor, my oath of office is to enforce the laws of the state of New Jersey. Not the laws I like or the laws that I agree with, but all the laws.
And if we don't want to have a country of men and women but a country of laws, where everyone is treated equally, that's what we need to do. Religious organizations absolutely should be protected, everyone should freely practice their religion the way they see fit, but businesses should not be allowed to discriminate, no."
Source: Hayley Miller, "Chris Christie: 'Businesses Should Not Be Allowed to Discriminate,'" hrc.org, Aug. 25, 2015
Con
"Religious institutions should be able to practice the religion that they believe in. No question and no doubt about it.
Now, in regard to same-sex marriage, I don't favor it. I've always favored traditional marriage, but, look, the court has ruled and I've moved on. And what I've said, Hugh [Hewitt], is that, look, where does it end?
If you're in the business of selling things, if you're not going to sell to somebody you don't agree with, OK, today I'm not going to sell to somebody who's gay, and tomorrow maybe I won't sell to somebody who's divorced.
I mean, if you're in the business of commerce, conduct commerce. That's my view. And if you don't agree with their lifestyle, say a prayer for them when they leave and hope they change their behavior."
Source: Team Fix, "The CNN-Telemundo Republican Debate Transcript, Annotated," washingtonpost.com, Feb. 25, 2016
Con
"In the gay movement people stood up and fought and said, you know what, we are not going to discriminate against people based upon their sexual orientation...
And then you've got the governor of Indiana saying, well you know, your religious views, and someone wants a service from you, you don't have to provide it. I think all over America, including corporate America, people are saying that is not what this country can be about...
Does everybody believe in religious freedom? Of course we all believe in religious freedom. But I think what has come out is 'my religious freedom is I do not have to provide services to you if you're gay.' I think that has come out more today than it has in the past and people are saying no, that is not what America is about...
I think as a nation we should let the folks in Indiana and Arkansas and elsewhere know that we don't support discrimination."
Source: The Texas Tribune, "Bernie Sanders," livestream.com, Apr. 2, 2015
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None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 20, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 10, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Dec. 21, 2015; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 1, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 1, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 3, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
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