GOP Presidential Hopefuls Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee Travel For Jailed 'Gay Marriage' Clerk

Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee were scheduled to make visits Tuesday to Kentucky in support of the county clerk who was jailed Thursday in contempt of court over gay marriage licenses.

The U.S. District Court judge who sent her to jail ordered her release on Tuesday as long as she does not interfere with deputy clerks issuing licenses.

She had previously refused a similar offer that sent her to jail Thursday. The clerks began issuing the licenses on Friday.

Read more:

• BREAKING: Judge Orders ‘Gay Marriage Clerk’ Kim Davis Released From Jail
• 1 God, 2 Kids, 3 Husbands, 4 Marriages: 5 Facts About Clerk Jailed Over Gay Marriage
• Full story: In Gay Marriage Dispute, Judge Jails Clerk Over Issuing Licenses

The two Republican presidential candidates have made religion central to their political campaigns for years.

“It is important to Sen. Cruz for Kim Davis to know that he supports her and will do everything in his power to ensure her situation is resolved and that no other Americans who strive to live out their faith fall victim to religious persecution by the government,” a Cruz spokeswoman told the Washington Post in a statement.

“The First Amendment — the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and expression — is foundational to all other freedoms and Sen. Cruz is committed to defending it.”

Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas, was scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday and has a special page on his campaign website titled “Stand With Kim,” where users can enter their name and email address into a web form to show their support.

A message left with the Cruz campaign was not immediately returned.

Davis was in jail for defying federal court orders to issue marriage licenses following the Supreme Court’s landmark gay marriage decision in June.

Protesters had gathered outside the home of U.S. District Judge David Bunning demanding her release.

Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, was scheduled to hold a rally and prayer vigil at 3 p.m. local time.

His main campaign website redirects to a, “Free Kim Davis” landing page with a web form similar to Cruz’s.

“This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty,” Huckabee said in a statement on his website.

“Having Kim Davis in federal custody removes all doubt of the criminalization of Christianity in our country. We must defend religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny. What a world, where Hillary Clinton isn’t in jail but Kim Davis is.”

Image via Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia