Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R), the first entrant for the GOP presidential nod in 2016, is blaming Fortune 500 companies for promoting the "radical gay marriage agenda" that he claims is destroying religious freedom, reports Bloomberg Politics.
Speaking before a packed house while campaigning in Iowa, Cruz defended the "Religious Freedom" act passed in Indiana, with others set to go into effect in Arkansas and Georgia.
"The Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty, to say: 'We will persecute a Christian pastor, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi,'" Cruz said while in Sioux City. "Any person of faith is subject to persecution if they dare disagree, if their religious faith parts way from their political commitment to gay marriage."
The normally business-friendly Cruz -- whose wife is on leave from her job at Fortune 500 company Goldman-Sachs while he runs for president -- continued on to say that other Republicans are "terrified" to speak out against the corporations that support marriage equality.
Corporations ranging from General Electric to Wal-Mart to Apple have decried Indiana's law, with Apple CEO Tim Cook, writing in the Washington Post, "The days of segregation and discrimination marked by Whites Only signs on shop doors, water fountains and restrooms must remain deep in our past."
Cruz did not mention any companies by name, leaving open the door for future contributions to his campaign, as he attempted to woo evangelical voters so important in primary campaigns, before candidates traditionally tack to the center before the general election.
All three states -- Indiana, Arkansas, and Georgia -- are currently rewriting their religious freedom bills in an effort to make them appear to be more gay friendly.
