By Greg Richter
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says it is Christians, not gay people, who are being discriminated against in the current religious freedom debate, and he thinks it's time they stood up for themselves.
Corporations from Wal-Mart to Apple and groups including the NCAA and NASCAR have condemned Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act because they say it allows businesses to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Huckabee is in the opposite camp, saying the law is intended only to keep people such as wedding photographers and caterers from having to participate in same-sex weddings if it goes against their religious beliefs.
"I'm watching these major corporations fold up like a cheap tent in a windstorm," Huckabee said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File."
"It breaks my heart to see it, because ultimately there are a lot of Christians that have been very quiet," he said. "They just said live and let live. But there may come a time when the vast numbers of people in this country, some of them aren't even Christians, who will say this is going too far. When you start trying to shut businesses down."
Huckabee spoke after a segment on an Indiana pizzeria that had to shut down after the owner said he wouldn't want to cater a gay wedding.
Huckabee, a likely 2016 Republican presidential contender, also responded to Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, who has said that anyone who supports the RFRA is not qualified to be president.
"I say no one is qualified to be president if they don't respect the First Amendment and religious liberty," Huckabee responded.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says it is Christians, not gay people, who are being discriminated against in the current religious freedom debate, and he thinks it's time they stood up for themselves.Corporations from Wal-Mart to Apple and groups including the NCAA and NASCAR have condemned Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act because they say it allows businesses to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.
Huckabee is in the opposite camp, saying the law is intended only to keep people such as wedding photographers and caterers from having to participate in same-sex weddings if it goes against their religious beliefs.
"I'm watching these major corporations fold up like a cheap tent in a windstorm," Huckabee said Wednesday on Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File."
"It breaks my heart to see it, because ultimately there are a lot of Christians that have been very quiet," he said. "They just said live and let live. But there may come a time when the vast numbers of people in this country, some of them aren't even Christians, who will say this is going too far. When you start trying to shut businesses down."
Huckabee spoke after a segment on an Indiana pizzeria that had to shut down after the owner said he wouldn't want to cater a gay wedding.
Huckabee, a likely 2016 Republican presidential contender, also responded to Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, who has said that anyone who supports the RFRA is not qualified to be president.
"I say no one is qualified to be president if they don't respect the First Amendment and religious liberty," Huckabee responded.
