--- description: The senator called the Supreme Court's decision today "judicial activism at its worst" title: Sen. Ted Cruz to Introduce Constitutional Amendment on Marriage Rights image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a55e0e487b22703/6986a741cd6848998f096db1/456137960.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Senate](/tag/senate/) ## Senate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ted Cruz: We Must Amend U.S. Constitution to Defend Marriage  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2014 9:39 PM CUT  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the 2014 Values Voter Summit, Sept. 26, 2014 in Washington, DC. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks at the 2014 Values Voter Summit, Sept. 26, 2014 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2014 9:39 PM CUT Senator Ted Cruz (R—Tex.) announced Monday that he will introduce [a constitutional amendment](http://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press%5Frelease&id=1777 "undefined") barring the federal government and the courts from overturning state marriage laws. The announcement follows [the Supreme Court’s decision](http://time.com/3474875/high-court-denies-gay-marriage-appeals/ "undefined") Monday to reject the appeals requests of five states seeking to outlaw same-sex marriages, permitting gay unions to go ahead in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. “By refusing to rule if the States can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution,” Cruz said in a statement. “The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.” Cruz described the court’s denial of appeals, which paves the away for [an expansion of legalized same-sex marriage](http://time.com/3474875/high-court-denies-gay-marriage-appeals/ "undefined") to as many as 30 states, as “judicial activism at its worst” and “a broad interpretation of the 14th Amendment” guaranteeing equal protection under the law, with “far-reaching consequences.” The Texas Republican isn’t the first to propose amending the constitution over same-sex marriage. In 2013, following the Supreme Court’s striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R.-Kan.) [introduced legislation](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/tim-huelskamp-gay-marriage%5Fn%5F3529842.html "undefined") for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (formerly R-Va.) proposed a similar amendment back in 2006. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3476241/ted-cruz-constitutional-amendment-same-sex-marriage-laws/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3476241/ted-cruz-constitutional-amendment-same-sex-marriage-laws/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz: We Must Amend U.S. Constitution to Defend Marriage","datePublished":"2014-10-06T21:39:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:37:23.610Z","description":"The Texas senator called the Supreme Court's rejection of appeals to uphold same-sex marriage bans in five states \"judicial activism at its worst\"","url":"https://time.com/3476241/ted-cruz-constitutional-amendment-same-sex-marriage-laws/","keywords":["Senate","Gay Marriage","Congress","politics","Marriage Equality","LGBT","Courts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a55e0e487b22703/6986a741cd6848998f096db1/456137960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a55e0e487b22703/6986a741cd6848998f096db1/456137960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Conservatives Gather For Voter Values Summit","caption":"Conservatives Gather For Voter Values Summit","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/senate/","name":"Senate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3476241/ted-cruz-constitutional-amendment-same-sex-marriage-laws/","name":"Ted Cruz: We Must Amend U.S. Constitution to Defend Marriage"}}]}] ```