Senator Ted Cruz, Republican presidential candidate from Texas, said that legality of same-sex marriage and adoption laws needs to be left to the states.
He was responding to a question by moderator Bret Baier at a GOP debate in Michigan, where he shared the podium with other GOP presidential hopefuls Donald Trump, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Cruz said that issues such as gay marriage should be handled at the state level, and that federal government and the Supreme Court must not override the states' laws.
"Well, listen, adoption is decided at the state level and I am a believer in the 10th Amendment in the Constitution, I would leave the question of marriage to the states, I would leave the question of adoption to the states," said Cruz.
"That's the way it has been for two centuries of our nation's history until five unelected judges in an illegitimate and wrong decision decided to seize the authority over marriage and wrongfully tear down the marriage laws of all 50 states," Cruz added.
The debate lasted two hours, and matters concerning religious liberty and Second Amendment were also discussed.
Kasich, who was previously a supporter of anti-discrimination law as against freedom of religious people to deny services to any customers on the basis of their background, changed his stance at the debate.
"If you go to a photographer to take pictures at your wedding, and he says, I'd rather not do it, find another photographer, don't sue them in court," Kasich said. "You know what, the problem is in our country - in our country, we need to learn to respect each other and be a little bit more tolerant for one another."
During the debate, Cruz and Rubio seemed to come out against Trump, while Kasich hinted that he was acting like an adult.
This was the first debate following the Super Tuesday primaries, during which Trump won over the most delegates including at Tennessee, Georgia, Vermont, Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas, and Massachusetts.
