Ted Cruz promotes Christians who oppose gay marriage
Mon. August 24, 2015 3:16 PM by Carlos Santoscoy
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, on Sunday released a video profiling Christians who oppose LGBT rights and marriage equality.
Featured in the five-minute video are former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, florist Barronelle Stutzman, bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, printer Blaine Adamson and Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk.
Monk was reassigned after he refused to discipline a staff sergeant under his command who openly opposed gay rights on religious ground to trainees because he shared the same beliefs. Air Force policy prohibits officers from promoting personal religious beliefs.
"To be told that because I hold a religious belief that that's some sort of discrimination," Monk says in the video.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed fired Cochran over controversial statements he made in a self-published, 162-page book titled Who Told You That You Were Naked. In the book, Cochran describes gay people as "unclean" and homosexuality as a "sexual perversion" similar to bestiality.
Reed said that the chief did not properly consult city officials before publishing his book, a claim that Cochran denies. The mayor also said that Cochran had opened Atlanta to possible discrimination lawsuits.
Cochran has since filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Reed and the city.
"Our definition of freedom in the United States of America is changing right before our eyes. I believe that those very freedoms are at risk in our beloved United States," Cochran says.
Cruz, who does not appear in the video, has previously said that his campaign would be based on his opposition to marriage equality and Obamacare.
(Related: Ellen Page confronts Ted Cruz over gay rights.)
Featured in the five-minute video are former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, florist Barronelle Stutzman, bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, printer Blaine Adamson and Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk.
Monk was reassigned after he refused to discipline a staff sergeant under his command who openly opposed gay rights on religious ground to trainees because he shared the same beliefs. Air Force policy prohibits officers from promoting personal religious beliefs.
"To be told that because I hold a religious belief that that's some sort of discrimination," Monk says in the video.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed fired Cochran over controversial statements he made in a self-published, 162-page book titled Who Told You That You Were Naked. In the book, Cochran describes gay people as "unclean" and homosexuality as a "sexual perversion" similar to bestiality.
Reed said that the chief did not properly consult city officials before publishing his book, a claim that Cochran denies. The mayor also said that Cochran had opened Atlanta to possible discrimination lawsuits.
Cochran has since filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Reed and the city.
"Our definition of freedom in the United States of America is changing right before our eyes. I believe that those very freedoms are at risk in our beloved United States," Cochran says.
Cruz, who does not appear in the video, has previously said that his campaign would be based on his opposition to marriage equality and Obamacare.
(Related: Ellen Page confronts Ted Cruz over gay rights.)
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine