Jeb Bush: Christian Business Owners Shouldn't Have To Provide Services for Gay Weddings
In an exclusive one-on-one interview with The Brody File, Jeb Bush says Christian business owners should be able to deny services to same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs. Bush makes the distinction between a Christian business owner being forced to provide a service rather than just selling a gay customer a product. “A big country, a tolerant country ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs,” Bush tells The Brody File. “We should be able to figure this out. This should not be that complicated gosh it is right now.”
The Brody File interviewed Jeb Bush Saturday morning in Dubuque Iowa.
David Brody: “This is more about the vendor issue as it relates to do they want to provide a service for same-sex weddings. Are you ok if they don’t provide those types of services? Is that ok?”
Jeb Bush: “Yes, absolutely if it’s based on a religious belief.”
Jeb Bush: “A big country, a tolerant country ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs. We should be able to figure this out. This should not be that complicated gosh it is right now.”
Brody File Analysis:
Look folks, let’s be clear about something here: Jeb Bush is a thinker/public policy wonk. He isn’t going to be the fire and brimstone candidate that goes for the applause lines or starts talking about Jesus at campaign events. That’s not him. If he started doing that he wouldn’t be authentic. From my interactions and conversations with him, I see him as a dedicated catholic who believes (correctly) that his faith requires compassion for all people. His challenge will be to convince socially conservative GOP Primary voters that his compassion doesn’t necessarily translate into capitulation, weakness and a label as the “squishy moderate.” He has to be careful that voters don’t see him as a candidate that gives ground on traditional marriage, religious liberty, etc.
It’s interesting because the reality is that Jeb Bush’s record as Florida Governor reads like a social conservative’s dream scorecard. He championed pro-life causes like a late term abortion ban, parental notification laws and fought against those who wanted to pull the plug on brain-damaged heroine Terri Schiavo. He also championed school choice and tried to protect prayers at public school events. It’s that Jeb Bush that social conservative voters want to see emerge in 2016. They want to see the Jeb Bush that was on display as governor of Florida. What they don’t want is another politician (Bush or anyone) who is more consultant-driven than principle-driven. CBN