Ted Cruz Moves to Block DC Laws on Gay Rights

March 20, 2015

NewsMax Reports:

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and James Lankford of Oklahoma have introduced a resolution to overturn two laws pertaining to abortion and gay rights passed by the Washington, D.C., council and signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, The Washington Post reported.

The lawmakers said the local laws violate religious freedom.

All D.C. laws are subject to a mandatory 30-day review period by Congress.

The Supreme Court had affirmed that some employers are exempted from paying for birth control under Obamacare when doing so conflicts with their religious tenets, he said.

A number of religious groups, among them representatives of the Family Research Council and the Archdiocese of Washington have called on Congress to disapprove of the D.C. laws on the grounds that they infringe upon constitutional protections of religious freedom.

Cruz is a contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. A Southern Baptist, he is popular among social conservatives. Lankford trained as a Baptist minister and was a two-term congressman before winning his Senate seat in November.

Congress has until April 17 to overturn the D.C. laws. In the unlikely event that happens the bill would still - more improbably - have to be signed by President Barack Obama, according to Roll Call.