eed reform to entitlements to allow us to want again and that is my point that i am trying to make two people when i talk about this, that at 2016, it is not just a choice about the laws that we are going to pass, it is not just a choice about what party is going to govern our country, it is the fundamental question about what kind of country we are going to

be in this new century, and if we want it to be the greatest era in the american century. i'm running for president. i'm asking for your vote because while america owes me nothing, i have a debt to america that i will never be able to repay, but i believe that i must try to ensure that people who are trying to do what their children what my parents did for me and still do it in this new century. if we can achieve that, we will usher in that new american century. the future will be better than our past. our children and our grandchildren will be the freest and most prosperous americans of that ever lived. thank you, and god bless america. [applause] ♪

ted cruz: sen. cruz: god bless the great state of south carolina. so is this the ready for hillary rally? [laughter] sen. cruz: i think the men and women here are more than ready for hillary. what a blessing. to be with so many compatriots on this day. you know, a couple of years ago, heidi and i had our girls, caroline and catherine up in washington one fall. on sunday, we decided to drive down to mount vernon -- george washington's home. we are driving down the parkway.

it is one of those crisp, fall days. you can smell the on in the air. our two girls are different. catherine, the baby, she is four years old. she is so sweet, she will hug on you. caroline, our seven-year-old, is a rascal. it is how god made her from the day she came into this world. it is how she will be every day on this planet. we are driving down the george washington parkway. caroline is in her car seat kicking the back of my seat, like she usually does. and our girls are to have a conversation. heidi and i just listened quietly. i don't know if any of you have ever done that -- listened quietly to your kids. caroline says catherine -- what do you want to do when you grow up? and catherine says, i want to

work in the united states senate. [laughter] i want to work with daddy. and caroline says, that is boring. she says, we're going to be rock stars. [laughter] and then she tosses out the zyngainger. besides, daddy will be dead by then. [laughter] but this is a real conversation. i kind of wondered if caroline had been speaking with republican leadership. [laughter] maybe she knew something that i did not know. the reason so many of us are here in this great gathering, is

because we love our kids. [applause] we love our grandkids, and this nation is in crisis. this is not a typical time in politics. we are at the edge of a precipice. i don't think we have hit the point of no return yet, but it is close. it is now or never. we either pull this country back , or we risk losing the greatest country in the history of the world. today, for the first time in history, a majority of americans believe that our kids will have a worse life than we do. 65% -- that has never been true in the history of america until this instance right now. maybe the most un-american idea you can imagine.

the central issue in 2016 is going to be how do we reignite the promise of america? how do we get back to that fundamental american ideal that our kids will have a better life than we do? and their kids will have a better life than they did. i am here today with the word of encouragement, hope, and optimism. three simple things that we can do to reignite the promise of america. number one, bring back jobs and growth and opportunity. [applause] the men and women here understand cause-and-effect. every time we go down this path of out-of-control spending, and regulations -- what results is stagnation misery, and malaise.

it doesn't work. on the other hand, the two levers that it has two unleash jobs are tax reform and regulatory reform. every time we put those in, we see incredible growth. whether in the 1920's the 1960's or the 1980's. tax reform, right now, we spend about $500 billion a year. on lawyers accountants -- that is all wasted. that is the budget of our entire military. the simplest and best tax reform, we should adopt a simple flat tax. [applause] for every american, they can

fill out their taxes on a postcard. [applause] and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. [applause] there are about 90,000 employees of the irs. we need to padlock the building. and take every one of those 90,000 and put them on our southern borders. [applause] now, to our friends in the media -- i say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek. think about it for a second. imagine you have traveled

thousands of miles in the blazing sun, you are swimming across the rio grande, the next thing you see are 90,000 irs agents. you would turn around and go home too. [laughter] [applause] and the second tool for jobs and growth and opportunity is regulatory reform. i was out in west texas, and i asked folks there, what is the difference between regulators and locusts? i said, the thing is, you cannot use pesticide on the regulators. [laughter] and this old farmer leaned back and said, you want to bet? [laughter] we have seen regulators descendent like locusts on small

business, killing jobs all across this country. and the simplest and most important regulatory reform, we need to repeal every word of obamacare. [applause] the second key to reigniting the promise of america is defend our constitutional rights. [applause] all of them. we need to defend the first amendment, our free speech, our religious liberty. [applause]

you know, all of us our hearts for breaking as we saw one unfolded in indiana and arkansas. as those states stood up to defend religious liberty, and the modern democratic party in a perfect storm joined with big business to stand up that marriage equality in all 50 states. it was not too long ago there was bipartisan consensus. on the first amendment. we might disagree between democrats and republicans on marginal tax rates, but when it came to religious liberty, we stood as one. how far we have come. let me say indiana that was a moment. as ronald reagan was a, a time for choosing. there are candidates running in

2016, even candidates in the republican seat, who when indiana was being battled, they were nowhere to be found. i can tell you this, when it comes to standing for the religious liberty of americans i will always, always stand with the first amendment. [applause] we need to defend the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. [applause] a couple of weeks ago, we were up in new hampshire -- we went to a firing range. my wife heidi was wearing a cap that said armed and fabulous. [laughter]

we need to defend the fourth and fifth amendments, our right to privacy. [applause] and we need to defend the 10th amendment. [applause] or as president obama calls it the what? [laughter] the fundamental protection that says the powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people. [applause] that means that there are core responsibilities -- they need to defend the nation, we need to stand with the military, we need

to defend our borders. [applause] but there are other areas the federal government has no business being involved. right at the top of that list, education. [applause] and we need to repeal every word of common core. [applause] education is too important for it to be governed by unelected bureaucrats in washington. it needs to be at the state level, even better at local levels, where we have better control. [applause] and then number 3 -- we need to restore america's leadership in the world. [applause]

for the last six years, we have seen the consequences of the obama-clinton foreign-policy. leading from behind does not work. [applause] and we cannot win a war on radical islamic terrorism with a president who is unwilling to honor the words "radcial islamic terrorism." [applause] instead of a president who boycotts prime minister benjamin netanyahu, imagine america standing unapologetically with the nation of israel. ? [applause]

we saw the ugly face of islamic terrorism in my home state of texas. in garland, where two jihadists came to commit murder. thankfully, one police officer helped them meet their versions. irgins. but when given the choice of free speech or political correctness, this is a time for choosing where we stand. [applause] just a few weeks ago, i was down in fort hood. where the soldiers who were shot were finally awarded the purple heart. [applause]

it took over five years for that to happen, because the obama administration refused to it knowledge that was terrorism. instead, it was workplace violence. i will tell you the reason why those purple hearts were awarded. i was very proud to introduce legislation in the senate to mandate that the pentagon award those purple hearts. [applause] on the senate armed services committee, we won support of republicans and democrats over the active opposition of the obama pentagon. and finally, those awards were given. as i shook the hands of each solidier and each wife

and child of those who were murdered, all i could say was i'm sorry. i'm sorry this took five years. the should have been acknowledged the day it happened, not five years too late. [applause] the great state of south carolina plays a pivotal role in our nation. y'all have the blessing and the curse of being an early primary state. you are going to see presidential candidates to send upon you like those federal regulators as locusts. my one request -- hold back on the pesticide. [laughter] but i will tell you the responsibility of this great state in the republican party is to ensure that we nominate a

conservative. [applause] how do you tell? because every candidate, there may be 15, 20, 30, it may take a phone book to tell how many we have -- but every one of them will say i am the most conservative guy who ever lived. i am pretty confident that if you had any speakers who stood up here and said, i am an established moderate who stands for nothing -- [laughter] they don't say that. so how do you tell the difference? the scriptures tell us that you should know them by their fruits.

[applause] and i would encourage each of you to ask every single candidate who stands up in front of you, you say you believe these principles, show me. when have you stood up for them, when have you bled for them, what have you accomplished? [applause] if you say you oppose obamacare when have you stood up and fought to stop it? [applause] if you say you oppose president obama's unconstitutional executive amnesty, when have you stood up and fought to stop it? [applause] if you say you support the first amendment, where you when indiana? [applause] if you say you support the

second amendment, where were you when harry reid and the president were coming after our gun rights? [applause] if you say you support the fourth amendment, our privacy when have you stood and fought to protect it? [applause] if you say you support the 10th amendment, if you say you oppose common core, when have you stood and fought on those principles? [applause] if you say you support life and marriage, when have you stood and fought to defend life and marriage? [applause] if you say you support israel, when have you stood and fought alongside israel? [applause] when have you stood and fought

to stop iran from getting nuclear weapons? [applause] you know, many of you may hear this and say, i agree with all this. but how can we make it happen? let me tell you, it is not going to come from washington. washington is broken. i have seen it firsthand. it will only come from millions of courageous conservatives rising up to say, we want our country back. [applause] i am inspired, i am hopeful, i am optimistic because of the men and women in this room. we are building an army. a grassroots army of courageous conservatives. for each of you that have your cell phones, i want to ask you

to do something if you have your cell phones. would you put out? and text the word constitution to the number 33733. let me give you that again, that is the word constitution to the number 33733. the hope for this country will come from the men and women across this country pulling us back. it was a century and a half ago that south carolina sent william barrett travis to the state of texas. it was a century and a half ago that william barrett travis drew a line in the sand and said, choose where you stand? give me liberty, or give me death? . many of y'all know my father --

pastor rafael cruz. my father saw freedom taken away in cuba. i will tell you what he said over and over again, i have lost my freedom once. i will die before it happens again. i'm going to close by just telling a quick story. on january 20, 2015, an elderly man walks up to the front gate of the white house. he asked the marine there, excuse me sir? is barack obama there? the marine says, i'm sorry sir barak obama is no longer president of the united states. [applause]

the next day, the same elderly gentleman walks up -- the same ring. he says, excuse me sir, is barack obama here? the marine size and says, i'm sorry sir, barack obama is no longer president of the united states. the next day, the same elderly gentleman walks up to the gates -- the same rain there again. he asked the question one more time. this time, the marine says i have told you three days in a row, barack obama is no longer president of united states. the little man with a twinkle in his eye, he says, i know that. i just love hearing you say it. [laughter] [applause]

and the marine salutes him and says see you tomorrow, sir. change is coming. god bless you, god bless south carolina. ♪ [applause] [whistling]

[applause] ♪ bobby jindal: thank you for that very warm reception. it is great to be back here. i thought long and hard about what i wanted to talk to you today. i want to talk about what i think is the greatest threat we face from the obama administration. there are a lot of things we put on the list. i worry about $18 trillion of debt. [applause] i worry about obamacare that puts bureaucrats between patients and their doctors. i worry about a president that

seems intent on signing a deal that would allow iran to become a superpower. [applause] i worry about a president that will force common core in our classrooms. i worry about a president who day by day, seeks new ways to change our country. but the greatest threat i think we face from the obama administration -- because a lot of this could be undone by a conservative in the white house. we can get rid of the epa drawbacks taxes, stand with israel as he fights off hamas and hezbollah. but the greatest damage by this president is what he is doing to redefine didyjthe idea of america. you listen to his speeches, you

see what he is trying to do. he is trying to redefine the american dream into one about dependence. about a growth and government spending. the longer you listen, the more you hear him trying to divide us by race, gender, geography. he wants us to look more and more like europe. i don't know about you but that is not the american dream my parents taught me. when i see this president and his policy, he is trying to turn the american dream and to the european nightmare. i want to tell you why the american dream is so important -- the external and in tomorro ternal threat. parents have lived the american dream. my dad, he is one of nine. he grew up in a house without running water and electricity one of the first and only in the family to get past the fifth

grade. i know, because we heard the stories every single day growing up. [laughter] i'm sure you have a dad like that. good luck trying to get an allowance of a dad like that. but here is the amazing thing. my parents, over 40 years ago got on a plane and travel halfway across the world to come to baton rouge, louisiana. the first time they ever got on a plane they were coming to america. i explained to my children, they don't understand. there was no internet, no google, no online. they could not search and see what people were like in baton rouge. they didn't know anybody who visited baton rouge who can tell them what the food, the people the culture, the temperature was like. this is what they knew. even though they had never visited or met anybody emma

they left behind their parents families, and friends. they were coming to an idea as much as they were coming to a place. they were coming to the idea of freedom and opportunity. they were coming to the american dream. they land in baton rouge. by mom goes to lsu. my dad needs a job. thank you. [laughter] i realize there may be some clemson and other fans. and the university of south carolina. i don't want to play favorites. my mom goes to school at lsu. my dad needs a job. there's student housing, he opens the yellow pages, and he calls companies looking for jobs. i don't know how many days or weeks it takes. i don't know how to people laugh in his face, but finally, he convinces a guy from a railroad

company to hire him site unseen. my dad hasn't even met the guy yet, the guy says you can start monday morning. my dad says, that is great. he tells his new boss, look, i don't have a car or a drivers license -- you eradicate me up on monday morning. who tells their new boss that? that is like the top 10 things not to do a job interview. the guy was so taken by his enthusiasm, he did exactly that. six months later, i was born. i was likely what you would call a pre-existing condition. there was no obamacare, my parents insurance did not cover me. two of our children were born that same hospital. our third child, the child was born at home. i didn't come home to tell you that story, but since tomorrow

is mother's day our last child was born home. our first child took 36 hours our third child took 30 minutes of labor. this was not on purpose. we were at home. my wife and me on a bathroom floor, two things i learned -- every man here, you go home and think your mother, your wife, your daughter, your sister, there is a reason that god in his infinite wisdown allows women to have babies. [applause] the dumbest thing i ever heard next week we were in church, a guy comes up to me and says bobby, the exact same thing happened to me. i had a kidney stone, it is exactly the same thing. [laughter] that was not a nine-pound

kidney stone. i've been married for 18 years i have lied to her exec we once. it was that morning. on the movies, they come out your full of pink. there is a reason that the hospital takes that baby pretty quickly away from you. that is not how it happens in real life. my wife says, how does he look? [laughter] if i'm honest, he doesn't look like he is done. but put them back in there for a little longer. [laughter] what i'm really thinking, he looks like your side of the family -- none of my relatives. i like being married, so i said he is beautiful. 10 fingers, 10 toes.

it was our third child, my given to my wife for the first time, i fell in love with her all over again. she didn't worry about the pain, it was mom and child. you knew you were witnessing a miracle. when i was born in women's hospital, my dad went to the hospital. it took us hours, and we had good insurance. my parents' insurance went to the doctor, my dad went to the doctor with no paperwork and said i want to send you a check every month until i pay this bill. and the two men stood there shook hands, and that was it. [applause] that is how things were done back then. it was a simpler time.

how would that work today? how do you pay for a baby on layaway? if you skip a payment, do they repossess the baby? he said, trust me -- you were so bad, we would have sent you back if that was an option. you were paid for. the reason i tell you all that i want to share you two things. mark twain says the only thing we get older, the smarter our parents become. as i get older, i turn more into my father. i say things he used to hate. if you come over bridge, would your friends? i hated when he said that, i say to my kids. one thing he would say to my brother and me every day, i am not leaving you a famous last name or an inheritance.

but i will make sure you get a great education. if you are willing to work hard, there is no limit to what you can do in this great country. the second thing, boys, you need to pray and give thanks to god. but you are blessed to be born in the greatest country in the history of the world, the united states of america. [applause] i will be honest. i did not appreciate that as a child. everyone i knew was born in america. what does it mean to give thanks and be thankful? i understand better as i teach my own children. i want to describe you to threats -- two threats. the first is an external threat the second is an internal threat. we have to take seriously the threat of radical islamic

terrorism. [applause] for some reason, we have a president that doesn't want to use those words to describe the enemy we face. unfortunately, this is not a threat in syria, iraq, is not a threat in paris or australia -- the recent events in garland texas. i was thankful those terrorists were sent to their afterlife. maybe there is a lesson. maybe texas, louisiana, south carolina -- those are the best places. in our states, we think of gun control, that means hitting the target you are aiming at. [applause] back in january, i gave a speech

in london that the left got hysterical about. i talked about the threat of radical islamic terrorism. i said islam has a problem and muslim leaders have a problem. we need a president the leaders to say to muslim leaders and clerics across the world, they must do two things. they must denounce these individual terrorists. it is not enough to condemn individual acts. they have to make clear these are not martyrs. they are not going to enjoy an award in the afterlife. rather, they're going straight to hell where they belong. [applause] and the second thing, muslim leaders must also do this. they must say that they tolerate and respect the freedoms of

others with religious police different than their own. [applause] i will warn you, when you say things like that, the left will call you racist, anti-muslim. it is simply the demand that these leaders condemn these terrorists, the stocks, these evil individuals. but you know, it is mind-boggling to me, as we face this threat -- we have a commander-in-chief who let suspend his time warning us of the threat of the crusades. i have to deal with president obama. if he will do his job as commander-in-chief and hunt down and kill and kill those radical

islamists, i will make a deal. i will be more than happy to take responsibility, i will be on the lookout for the medieval christians. [applause] the second threat we face is an internal threat. and the second threat is an assault on our liberties here at home. and the most recent is the assault on religious liberty we see taking place across his entire country. [applause] i gave a speech that a year ago at the reagan library saying that the assault on religious liberty was coming. it is the lower coming, it is here. you saw this, first of all, you saw this in the obama administration's assault on the

green family. remember hobby lobby? they did not want to violate their own religious police, they didn't want to pay for abortions. the supreme court ruled in favor of the green family and not obama. my question is, why was that a 5-4 ruling? why was that not a 9-0 ruling on the side of liberty? but it wasn't just the obama administration. then we saw the assault in indiana and arkansas, where corporate america joined up with the radical left to bully those lawmakers and leaders. i have a warning to corporate america. you are aligning yourself that wants to regulate and tax you out of existence. you cannot have economic liberty

without religious liberty. i also have a warning to the republican party, you cannot become the party of big business. [applause] but i will also say this to the corporations that are told me in louisiana the "want to pass a bill protecting the rights of individuals and the traditional view of marriage. do not waste your breath trying to bully the governor of louisiana. don't waste your breath. [applause] the third example, you may remember phil robertson of the dynasty fame. all of a sudden, they wanted to cancel his tv show. you may have noticed, that as the governor, i was one of the

first to defend him. you may have thought i did that because he was from louisiana. you may have thought i did that because i know the robertson's, and they are good friends. you may have thought because my boys are big fans of the show. by the way, how nice is it to watch a show as a family, where you are not worried about the language or the images you see? [applause] the reason i defended phil's right to speak i'm sick and tired of the left. [applause] they tell us they respect differences of opinion. they tell us they have respect for freedom and speech and liberty. the reality is less, they tolerate everybody that has the

temerity to disagree with them. enough is enough. we have to draw the line. the fourth example, you may have seen the last couple of days, secretary clinton in new york said this. those of us that are pro-life need to have our religious beliefs changed. what does that even mean? we need to have our beliefs changed? i have news for secretary clinton. my religious beliefs are not between me and hillary clinton. [applause] my religious beliefs are between me and god. and i am not changing them no matter how uncomfortable they make secretary clinton or president obama or anybody else on the left. [applause]

there is a time when the left really believed in the first amendment. there was a time when the left understood that religious liberty is the foundation of this country. make a mistake. without liberty, there are no other freedoms. like freedom of speech association, and press. make no mistake, this isn't just about marriage. though unlike obama and clinton, my views on marriage are not involving with the polls. i continue to believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. [applause] this debate is much bigger. it is bigger than marriage.

this is about the power of the state to try and close christian business owners. this is about the left telling us we don't have a right to live our lives according to our beliefs. when president obama says you have the freedom of expression, you get to go to church and say what you want inside church. that is not religious liberty. religious liberty is the ability to support our faith 24 hours a day, seven days a week. [applause] we should not have to choose between following our conscience , following our scriptures, and operating our businesses. i will tell you this. i will say it slowly plainly and clearly. so even the left in hollywood and the media and in the government can understand. the united states of america did not create religious liberty.

religious liberty created the united states of america. [applause] i accepted christ was 28 years ago the teenager at a nondenominational church on the campus of lsu. never what i think that i would see the day when my own government would try to take away my rights. i want to close this observation. i start off by telling my parent's story. my concern that president obama is trying to redefine the american dream into a european nightmare.

our best days are still ahead of us. the reason i believe that is that our founding fathers that something important and right. they knew that the genius of america is not in washington d.c. it is in the freedoms they enshrine. they knew the function of the government wasn't too great those rights, it was to protect the god-given ones. the genius of moms and dads raising their kids in south carolina in louisiana and all over the country. we cannot beat by an external enemy. we must make sure we are not beat internally. this president does try to divide us every chance he gets. [applause] one of the things we must be on guard against, we must finally stop calling ourselves -- we are not african americans, we are not patient asian-americans

we are not indian americans/ im tired of all the hyphenated americans. when my parents came over him of a loved india. my mom says if i want to raise my children as indians or indian americans, i would stay there. if we stay united, nobody can beat us. and that is why i will close this observation. it is not optional that we win in 2016, not just because we need a republican in the white house. we need a conservative who will make big changes. we must win this election, we can win this election, we will beat hillary clinton. god bless south carolina, god bless louisiana, god bless the

united states of america. [applause] ♪ [applause] dr. ben carson: thank you. i am so happy to be here with you this afternoon. i love coming to south carolina. there are a lot of people here with common sense. sometimes we don't find that in other locations. they said it was a pretty rough and tumble place. they said it was a rough-and-tumble place but, i lost two since i've been here.

this one went out last night. but i have also had a chance to see two very fine dentists here. many people have asked me about my mother. i appreciate the sentiment. right after my announcement on monday, i flew down to texas where she is. and my wife and myte and my two sons, she is in the terminal stages of o all illness. for the last three days, she has been eating and drinking again. [applause] i just want to thank you for all those prayers. because they do mean a lot. speaking of my mother, she had

probably the greatest influence other than jesus christ on my life. and because she refused to be a victim. she had every reason to be a victim. born in a very large family, in rural tennessee, shifted from home to home. never really feeling like she belongs. trying to cobble together any kind of education she could. gaining only as much as a third grade education. getting married at 18, moving to detroit, discovering years later that he was a bigamist. working so hard trying to support myself and my brother. the interesting thing about her is, she absolutely refused to feel sorry for herself.

and that was a good thing. the problem is she never felt sorry for us, either. [applause] we can never say anything to invoke sympathy. she was like that baltimore mom you so and television. [applause] except, that i would have never been out there in the first place. i would've known what was coming. you know, it does say a lot though about the concept of the family. and i think that family is such an important pillar of strength for this country. and it has been under attack for the last few decades. first, they started attacking the role of fathers so much on television. that you don't need one. and in the government programs that give money to women who

have babies out of wedlock. and they take the money away she gets married. these kinds of things are anti-family. one of the things we have to do, we have to get the people who actually create programs to understand the kinds of programs that work. the kinds of programs that lift people out of poverty, not the kind of programs that maintain people in a state of dependence. some people criticize me. a say you want to get rid of all the safety net programs. no, i do not want to. what i do want to do is help us to create an environment where you do not need all the safety net programs. this country that we live in is

an amazing country. think about this. we declared our independence in 1776. in less than 100 years, we were the number one economic power in the world. nobody else could do that. thousands of years before we came on the scene, people did things the same way. within 200 years of us, people were walking on the moon. america is an exceptional country. there is nowhere else like it. have we made mistakes? of course we have. how we learn from those mistakes? of course we have. we as americans have to recognize that our strength lies in our unity. and we have to stop listening to all the purveyors of divisions

who are out there. trying to make us believe we hate each other. and that there is a war on women. there is no war on women, that is ridiculous. they are really trying to stoke up this racial stuff. in all of our cities. we are going to have to get beyond that. i was asked by reporter why don't talk about race. i said because i am a surgeon. she thought that was weird. when i open someone up, i'm operating on the hair, the bones, the brain. that is what makes a person. [applause] at some point, we need to start thinking much deeper -- in a much deeper level. not just looking superficially anybody can do that. an animal can do that.

we have to be able to analyze things at a much deeper level. the religious wars that they are stoking up -- you know, i believe that we are all entitled to have whatever faith we want to have. our first amendment guarantees us freedom of religion. not freedom from religion, we need to be able to live anywhere we want to. atheists also have a religion. they won't tell you they have a religion, but they obviously have a religion. they believe in things that they cannot prove. so they have faith. i find it interesting when they say you are a scientist, how could you possibly believe in god? i mean, that is so ridiculous.

i remember one time i was having an argument in hollywood. with the famous atheists -- this was a public debate. he thought that anybody who believed in god was a total idiot. and at the end of the conversation, i said look, i believe i came from god. you believe you came from a monkey. i tend to agree with you. [applause] but the fact of the matter is, what we do need to make sure is that we never force our beliefs upon someone else. and that needs to go in

both directions. the left doesn't get to force it on anybody else. with the whole gay marriage thing, i get asked that so much now. that is the predominant question. why is it so hard for people to understand this? marriage, in my opinion, is between one man and one woman. by the same token, our constitution guarantees the rights of every single citizen. we protect the rights of every citizen. however, everybody is eat all. nobody gets special rights to change the rules. that is what we must gu