Focus now on ‘limiting damage’ of gay marriage

DENVER: While some Republican presidential candidates urged action to counter the US Supreme Court’s ruling legalising gay marriage, grassroots activists at a conservative conference this weekend said they preferred to focus on “limiting the damage”.

Several presidential hopefuls at the Western Conservative Summit in the swing state of Colorado called for constitutional amendments or civil disobedience to turn back the court’s landmark ruling on Friday.

But Christian conservatives who have been on the front lines of a battle to stop the advance of gay marriage indicated it was time to cut their losses. Rather, they would prefer to ensure that the ruling would not restrict their ability to practice their religion as they saw fit.

“Our first response is moving at a federal and state level to protect religious freedom,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum blamed his fellow Republicans for not banning gay marriage nationwide, as he tried to do a decade ago in Congress. “We have been bullied into silence,” Santorum said. – Reuters