- Sen. Ted Cruz
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Press Release on Kelly Shackelford Endorsement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Rick Tyler |
News Release | Catherine Frazier |
January 13, 2016 |
Kelly Shackelford: "Cruz is Number One
on Religious Liberty"
Endorses Ted Cruz for President
HOUSTON, Texas
- Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced the endorsement of
Kelly Shackelford, a top religious liberty litigator and spokesman for
more than a quarter century.
Kelly Shackelford is the President and CEO of Liberty Institute, one of
the nation’s largest legal organizations dedicated entirely to
defending and restoring religious liberty. He is a constitutional
scholar who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, testified before
Congress on constitutional issues, and won three recent landmark First
Amendment and religious liberty cases. Texas Lawyer named
Shackelford one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the past quarter
century. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on national news.
"For me, the number one issue is religious liberty, and on that issue
the choice is easy,” Shackelford said. “Ted Cruz not only believes in
religious liberty, he champions it. I have fought alongside him and
watched his willingness to sacrifice for our first freedoms. His
brilliance, his understanding, and his proven commitment - not just
words - are unequalled in this race. I don't have to worry about what
he will do: I've watched him do it in battle. As someone who has been
committed to fighting for religious liberty for over 26 years, I
wholeheartedly endorse Ted Cruz for President. He is the clear choice."
Under Shackelford’s leadership, Liberty Institute has become a legal
powerhouse. A non-profit, they coordinate a national network of top
attorneys who donate time to defend the religious liberty of vulnerable
Americans at no cost to them. Liberty Institute is focused on defending
the religious liberties of Americans in four key areas of attack –
schools, churches, the military, and the public arena - and has a 90
percent win rate.
“Kelly has long been a friend – now I’m happy to have him as an ally in
our campaign for the presidency,” Cruz said. “Religious liberty is
unquestionably the most important issue to people of faith in this
election cycle. I have spent my career defending religious liberty, and
I am pleased to have so many veterans of religious liberty leading our
team. As radical ideologues around the world demonstrate increasing
hostility toward people of faith, Americans want a president dedicated
to defending our first freedoms.”
During his tenure as Texas Solicitor General, Cruz defended “Under God”
in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments monument, and a cross
erected by veterans in the Mojave Desert. Cruz galvanized support for
the Houston pastors subpoenaed by their mayor in 2014 and authored an
amicus brief defending Hobby Lobby in January of that year. He
introduced and successfully passed two amendments to the NDAA in the US
Senate to protect the religious liberty of service members.
In Iowa in August and in South Carolina in November, Shackelford
praised Cruz for championing religious liberty rights at two rallies
for religious liberty hosted by Cruz in the early-voting states.
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