Ted Cruz took up couple’s cause against gays to court evangelicals
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Trip Gabriel
IOWA---When Senator Ted Cruz speaks to as many as 2,000 conservatives at a Rally for Religious Liberty on Friday night, he will feature on stage Iowa’s equivalent of the Christian bakers and florists who became cause célèbres by refusing to provide services for same-sex weddings. Richard and Betty Odgaard, a Mennonite couple who would not rent their event space for a gay wedding in 2013, incurring a $5,000 fine from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, have had their cause taken up by Mr. Cruz as he seeks support from Iowa’s many evangelical voters. Mr. Cruz, the Texas Republican, has blamed “liberal fascism” for driving the Odgaards out of business. [link]
By Trip Gabriel
IOWA---When Senator Ted Cruz speaks to as many as 2,000 conservatives at a Rally for Religious Liberty on Friday night, he will feature on stage Iowa’s equivalent of the Christian bakers and florists who became cause célèbres by refusing to provide services for same-sex weddings. Richard and Betty Odgaard, a Mennonite couple who would not rent their event space for a gay wedding in 2013, incurring a $5,000 fine from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, have had their cause taken up by Mr. Cruz as he seeks support from Iowa’s many evangelical voters. Mr. Cruz, the Texas Republican, has blamed “liberal fascism” for driving the Odgaards out of business. [link]
