Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized the Supreme Court‘s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, saying it was “clearly wrong when it was decided.”
In a recent episode of his podcast, Cruz argued the ruling is vulnerable in the wake of the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last month.
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“Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history,” Cruz said in a clip from his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz. “Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell — some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.”
Cruz argued the court overstepped its authority in making same-sex marriage legal nationwide with the decision, similar to how Roe made abortion legal nationwide.
“The way the Constitution set up for you to advance that position is, ‘Convince your fellow citizens’ — that if you succeeded in convincing your fellow citizens, then your state would change the laws to reflect those views,” Cruz said. “In Obergefell, the court said, ‘Now, we know better than you guys do, and now, every state must — must sanction and permit gay marriage.’ I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the court overreaching,” Cruz said.
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In the Dobbs decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion that Roe and abortion were a separate issue from other right to privacy cases and the decision should not be seen as the court threatening other precedents unrelated to abortion.
Still, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, arguing the court should “correct the error” of rulings that protect same-sex marriage and contraception access.