WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee called upon Christians to stand with a Kentucky county clerk who has been jailed for refusing to be forced to issue marriage licenses to homosexuals in violation of God’s law against homosexuality.

“Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith,” Cruz wrote in a public statement on Thursday. “This is wrong. This is not America.”

“I stand with Kim Davis. Unequivocally. I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to choose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court opinion,” he said.

Cruz stated that those who believe Davis should resign are essentially stating that Christians should not hold government positions.

“Those who are persecuting Kim Davis believe that Christians should not serve in public office. That is the consequence of their position. Or, if Christians do serve in public office, they must disregard their religious faith–or be sent to jail,” he said.

“Kim Davis should not be in jail. We are a country founded on Judeo-Christian values, founded by those fleeing religious oppression and seeking a land where we could worship God and live according to our faith, without being imprisoned for doing so,” Cruz continued. “I call upon every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty to stand with Kim Davis.”

Former Baptist minister and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has now launched a petition to Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning, calling for Davis’ immediate release.

“Having Kim Davis in federal custody removes all doubt of the criminalization of Christianity in our country,” he wrote on Facebook yesterday. “We must defend religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny.”

Huckabee said that he spoke with Davis prior to her court hearing and offered his support.

“Kim is a person of great conviction. When people of conviction fight for what’s right they often pay a price, but if they don’t and we surrender, we will pay a far greater price for bowing to the false God of judicial supremacy,” he stated. “Government is not God. No man—and certainly no unelected lawyer—has the right to redefine the laws of nature or of nature’s God.”

“Who will be next? Pastors? Photographers? Caterers? Florists?” Huckabee asked. “This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty.”

A rally in support of Davis is scheduled for tomorrow outside of the Carter County Jail. Pastors and other Christian leaders are expected to address the crowds, including Matt Trewhella, pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and author of “The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate.”

“Kim Davis (and others) are attempting to stand in the gap. Their fealty to the Lord does not allow them to join the higher authorities in their rebellion against God,” he wrote in a blog post this week.

“As a magistrate, Kim Davis and the other clerks should interpose against a lawless Supreme Court by refusing to participate in homosexual marriage because it impugns the created order and word of God and it is repugnant to the Constitution,” Trewhella said. “All those in positions of authority stand accountable to God—even the U. S. federal government.”

Become a Christian News Network Supporter...

Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. With much compromise and many falsehoods in modern-day Christianity, we strive to bring you the news by keeping Christ and His word in focus. If you have benefited from our news coverage, please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth of God's word widely and freely published and distributed. May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!