not everybody opposed or not with us are somebody like tony perkins. there are people who still thinking it through. good news, people do think it through and they do move. i'm confident that these people will see what majority of americans have come to see that when we end discrimination, when we end exclusion, families are helped and no one is hurt. in the last week the williams institute, bob released a poll showing that in every single state where we brought the freedom to marry support has gone up. people hen they get a chance to see it for real and open their hearts and talk to their neighbors understand that civil rights advances like this are good. they're good for the community, they're good for the country good for the constitution and certainly good for families. >> schieffer: what do you think has been the theme that has caused a lot of people to change their mind on this? >> the overwhelming engine of change is conversation. it's been gay people talking about love, talking about commitment, talking about why marriage matters, reality of ou

greta: tony perkins, president of the family research council. ank you very much for joining us on "newsmakers." tony: great to be with you. greta: let me turn to you gentlemen to talk about what we heard here from mr. perkins. let's begin with the indiana law. holsinger, what do you think the impact is of this whole debate on the republican party? paul: clearly, a debate that we were not anticipating having. any trial lawyer will tell you that you don't go into court and so you know the answers to the questions he will ask. i think in this case they did not know in advance that they would unleash this firestorm of debate. i think it is not ultimately where republicans wanted to be, having a conversation if you do or do not have to bake a cake for gay marriage. in the beginning days of the gop primary season, i don't think it's where most of the party wanted to be. on the other hand, i think this to perkins does have a point that it energizes a portion of the voters that they need to have of the poll. if the passion last, it could be helpful to th

heavens no. >> tony perkins is president of the family research council. ere last night defending the law. now that you've heard that the governor is prepared to modify it a law you thought was fine as it was standing what say you? because todd, who has been very outspoken said he believes that governor pence threw the people of faith under the bus today. >> well, i certainly hear the engine roaring. i wouldn't say we've been thrown under the bus just yet. mike's been a long time friend of mine. but i think he enraged his friends. there are people deeply concerned about the growing intolerance towards religious freedom in this country. they were very disappointed. there's no question about it. however, this language this fix, we've not seen it yet. and there's still an opportunity i think to salvage the heart and soul of what this religious freedom restoration act was intended to do. >> the question was what that was. governor pence for some reason will not get specific about whether this law would specifically in any case allow a florist, for example, obje

greta: this week on "newsmakers" -- tony perkins, the president of the family research council joinss from baton rouge. in studio, we have paul singer and mike warren. paul, go ahead with the first question. paul: can you explain for the viewers why a bill like the religious freedom restoration act is necessa

>> thank you. >>> joining me now, tony perkins, president of the family research council. great to see you, tony. and what a moment that has turned out to be in this campaign already for the first time to hear abortion being talked about in this manner. >> that one question whether or not miss shultz would draw the line at a seven pound baby really has turned the tables. because tests have shown just how extreme the democratic party is on the issue of abortion. i have to say this megan. not just the democratic party. really the media. that for years, that i given cover to those who just want to play these gotcha questions on the exceptions issue. >> by and large, i would say many republicans believe in life period. time of conception forward. they want that baby protected. but by and large, republican candidates have said we're not going to mess with abortion rights in the first trimester given the law as it stands. you know, you have to really repeal roe versus wade and casey and so on. the media goes after these republicans trying to make them seem like they're going to

tony perkins is president of the family research council. tony, good to see you tonight. so it doesn't seem that there's much doubt what the president was referring to as pundits from both sides of the aisle said he was referring to the indiana religious freedom law and seemed to be passing rather harsh judgment on it. >> well, megyn, you're right, i think that's true. it's not the president's consistent swipes at orthodox christianity, it was a missed opportunity that as a prayer breakfast for easter where the president once again failed to bring attention to the persecution of christians from around the world that they embrace jesus christ and follow him. moms and dads and brothers and sisters, as you pointed out on friday, 150 students in kenya killed, separated the muslims and christians. the christians were killed. the white house didn't acknowledge that. we see this is not happening, megyn, in a vacuum. i think there's a reason the president doesn't want to talk about this persecution of christians, because in part, his policies are responsible. the growing hostilit

. >> reporter: tony perkins of the family research council say local proponent of gay marriage. >> we stand with mellenia of experience, that the union of man and women,acred marriage is the cornerstone of society. that's where kids learn to become citizens. >> reporter: where proponents push for same-sex marriage says it comes down to fairness. said one arguing the case the case is about is real people who care about each other. the first state to allow same-sex marriage was massachusetts in 2004. the case is so significant, justices have dedicated 2 1/2 hours for arguments. 90 minutes more than usual. a decision expected late june. >> don champion here in new york thank you, don. >>> the trial of the accused movie theater murderer james holmes was heard monday. jurors heard two different portraits of his mental state during the mass shooting years ago. the mass shooting killed 12 and injured dozens more. >> reporter: james holmes sat calm and emotionless. during opening statements prosecutors played a 911 call. the prosecution is seeking the death penalty against holmes who is accus

look at tony perkins, at the family research council group. he said you want to roll back religious freedom, good-bye wal mat, hello conservative grocery. apple and walmart helped sink laws meant to defend religious liberty. a clear schism emerging between the social conservatives and big business folks. social conservatives saying they don't necessarily worry about the value we hold dear in the conservative movement. >> recognized domestic partnerships and providing benefits and so forth. do we think this is a permanent split? >> well that's going to be one of the key questions going into 2016. it is a fraying of the relationship this week. we're definitely seeing that. whether that can be -- those ties can be mended over the course of the next couple months is going to be the big question for 2016. republican candidates for president, we'll have to pick sides in this. >> what does it mean for businesses? one of the quotations you cited there is good-bye to walmart, hello neighborhood. >> right. >> do those kinds of exhortations or threats ha

host: tony perkins is our guest on c-span's "newsmakers" program. and a couple of tweets this morning from the pope to his nearly 6 million followers. including, christ has risen. and he also sent out a tweet saying the cross of twice -- christ is not a defeat, it is love and mercy. does religion divide or unite us? many of you weighing in. you can join our conversation on facebook. diane says, it depends on the heart of the people involved. another, the real question is, do religious leaders divide or unite? and marty has this tweet saying, quote, religion is a main provider in the history of humanity. brad from warned michigan -- wa rren, michigan. why do you say religion divides us? caller: well, it has already's -- always been a part of my life. i think they are getting pushed back from the people now that they don't like their agenda and we are going to stand up against it. these governments that back down on these laws, i think they pay a price. i think the vast majority of people in this country don't support gay rights. they turn from victim

so i would like to ask tony perkins. what are religious people complaining about? have one enact. >> certainly unfortunately. americans, christians, other religious americans are not losing their lives like they are in the middle east. but as you have talked about on your program, we are seeing the government come in and the line of separation that we have heard about that separates church from state. it's being breached by the state because the state is taking away the rights of religious americans. >> i think it is increasing as we have seen over the last 40 to 50 years, we've seen it on college campuses and in the school system. >> when students, valedictorians salutatorian's began to give their commencement speeches and offer prayers you will see people like this who simply wanted to give credit where credit was due and that was to his relationship with jesus but he did it anyway. >> the school board said that you may not recite the lord's prayer in your speech. >> you could not make reference to god and so on and so forth. he had to get a preapproved speech, t

let's bring in tony perkins and michael flupts.'t have a law on the books that prohibits sexual orientation or gender identity. they tried to put that into the bill. what did that do? >> they did not provide gender identity. what it did is said that in municipalities, so in indianapolis there is say local sit ordinance that protects against certain kinds of discrimination that will be honored. religious objections will not be allowed to trump that ordinance but in most of the state of indiana there is no civil rights protections for gay people or trans people and that remains even after the fix. >> and the lawmakers working on the fix said they could do that and i think their legislative session is close to wrapping up and they are hope to fix that before the end of the session. and they felt like this would help with the teeth what say you? >> it goes back to 1993 when bill clinton signed the first one and other states put these in the books. these are not about infringing upon the rights of anyone but keeping the government from

i want to ask tony perkins. what are you religious people complaining about? you've won. >> well, john, certainly and fortunately, americans, here, christians, other religious americans are not losing their lives like they are in the middle east but as you've talked about already on your program, they are losing their rights. we're seeing increasingly government come in, and this line of separation that we've heard about so long that separates church from state, it's not being breached by the church. it's being breached by the state as the state is taking away rights of religious americans sflchlts. >> this is pretty rare. >> i don't think so. we've seen it on school systems, college campuses. >> how have we seen it in school systems? >> when students, valedictorian, salutatorians begin to give their commencement speeches, offer prayers you'll see young people like roy costner who just wanted to give credit to where credit was due, and that was with his lord and savior jesus christ, and he was shut down. and he did it anyway. >> but by shut down the school boa

[applause] >> tony perkins talks about the religious freedom of easily passed in indiana and arkansashe also discusses the 20 16th presidential election and the role conservatives will have in the race. watch the interview sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern on seas. -- on c-span. >> this weekend, the c-span cities for has partnered with cox communications. >> frank phillips was an oil man. it became the headquarters for philips 66. today, you see the familiar shie ld. philips 66 has become familiar to people out here as a coke bottle. it is that iconic in the minds of many motorists. he was part of the flamboyant oil fraternity that came out of the late 19th century into the 20th century. these were very macho men who had amazingly solid egos. they were very sure of themselves, and that was very important. but, he was human. that is part of the story. he was many things. but always, first and foremost, he was an oil man. announcer: next, former texas state senator wendy davis talks about politics, and after, a discussion on conservative messaging. texas state senator wendy davis spo

announcer: on newsmakers, tony perkins talks about the indiana and arkansas religious freedom laws and the political reaction. he also talks about the role of conservatives, specifically religious conservatives in the next campaign. announcer: this weekend the c-span city's tour has partnered with cox communications to learn about the life in tulsa oklahoma. phillips 66 with a company he founded north of us here in tulsa. it became the headquarters. today you still see the familiar phillips 66 shield. phillips 66 has become as familiar to people out here as a coke bottle. it is iconic in the minds of motorists. he was part of that flamboyant oil fraternity that came out of the early -- or the late 19th century and flourished. these were men macho industry who had amazingly solid egos. they were very sure of themselves greats, but he was human. he was many things, but always first and foremost, an oilman read announcer: what's all of our events from tulsa throughout the day on book tv. announcer: texas state senator wendy davis spoke for more than 10 hours in 2013, opposing a texas law

host: tony perkins, the head of the family research council, was on c-span "newsmakers." he reacted to some of the news out of indiana in terms of business reaction to the religious freedom law. tony perkins: the hypocrisy is amazing to me, how you have all these businesses say we will not do business in indiana, where they are doing business in china and the middle east, where they do not only discrimination, but they execute homosexuals. a lot of the media did not call them out for that -- the fact that a lot of the media did not call them out for that is quite striking. host: he said the hypocrisy about some of the business leaders' reaction to the religious freedom law in indiana. here is a -- here is what carly fiorina had to say. "opposition to the religious freedom law is hypocritical. once a fortune 50 chief executive herself, she is disgusted with how ceo's rush to condemn the religious freedom law. mrs. free arena -- mrs. free arena -- the result of corporations vowing to narrow special interests rather than on public anger. ceo's like tim cook, who publicly obj

." >> on newsmakers, tony perkins. he talks about the indiana and artists are religious freedom law and the political and business reaction. he talks about the role of conservatives, specifically religious conservatives in the 2016 campaign. "newsmakers" on c-span. >> of this weekend the sixth tour has partnered with cox communications to learn about literary life in oklahoma. >> frank phillips was an oil man. phillips 66 was a company he founded north of us here in tulsa. it became the headquarters for phillips 66. and today, you still see the familiar phillips 66 shields. it is as familiar to people out here as a coke bottle. it is that iconic in the minds of many motorists. she was part of that flamboyant oil fraternity that came out of the early -- late 19th century into the 20th century and flourish. these were men, very macho who had amazingly a solid in go. -- eg theyo were very sure of. themselves and that was important. but he was human. that is part of the story. so good, the bad, and the ugly. there are many

. >> sunday, tony perkins on religious freedom laws. newsmakers, sunday at 10 a.m.. >> the most memorable moment of this week was hearing senator cory gardner telling us to be firm and principles of flexible in details. it reflects the harsh polarization we see across the country and the methodology that if all senators and congressmen and women can adopt, we can come together as a country to solve issues. >> my favorite quote came from julie adams. she said her member to be humble and have a strong work ethic, be kind to people you meet on the way up, you will be them on the way back down. >> in congress, there is a lack of true statesman. senator john mccain did something impressive last year. he committed to the veterans affairs reform bill, reading the senate torture report and maintaining how staying away from torture is essential to the character of our democracy. at the point we have living to cross the aisle or make decisions in who they may not often agree with, that is essentially what we need to maintain the security, the int

we have tony perkins of the family research council on our "newsmakers" program at 10:00 on sunday morning and 6:00 eastern time. bob is in plymouth, indiana northern indiana. go ahead, bob. caller: i just want to say i think i am in a vastly growing minority in this country. i am white and i'm conservative person male. -- christian male. open comments about minorities are a lot of this country but i would like to share on this topic as a conservative christian i believe the bible is god's word. i believe in heaven and hell and i believe in a god and a double. i believe as a christian the primary response abilities. one, love all people. it is not my job to judge those that are of other worlds, but as a christian mike job is to -- my job is to share my faith and not to dissipate in where the world gets blended with god. as a christian i've got to speak god's truth. he is my boss. not the government, not my employer. there are times i've got to put god on the shelf even myself because i work in a public institution. i believe in serving all people. i use this analogy often. if i am walking

moving on to tony perkins, the head of the family research council.ll back religion freedom? good-bye walmart, hello neighborhood grocery. and then matt lewis, a conservative columnist wrote big businesses like apple and walmart helped sink laws meant to defend religious liberty. all of these conservatives, kelly, upset that big business seemed to side in this recent debate on the side of gay rights and gay marriage. that is something that matt lewis is arguing in his column is enough to decouple that political alliance which has been so important to republicans over the years between social conservatives and business. the question is whether this is just a fraying of that alliance or whether this portends something different for 2016. all of these candidates who get into the race are going to have to pick sides in this fight and we're going to see how this plays out for republicans over the next year or so kelly. >> huge story, eamon. thank you so much. eamon javers for us in washington. i want to get reaction now from a prominent woman in the news m

host: this conversation will continue sunday, tony perkins on our newsmakers program at 10:00 eastern bob is in plymouth, indiana. go ahead. caller: i want to say, i think i am in a vastly growing minority. i am white, conservative christian male. open comments against my minorities allowed in many forms. what i want to share in this topic, as a conservative christian, i believe the bible -- i believe in heaven and hell. i believe in a god and a double. i believe that, as a christian i have three responsibilities. love all people. it is not my job to judge those that are of the world. but as a christian, my job is to share my faith. and not to participate in world -- and where the world gets blended. as a christian, i have to speak god's truth. he is my boss. not the government, not my employer year, but at times, i have to put god on the shelf even myself, because i work in a public institution. i believe in serving all people. i use this analogy often. if i am walking by a pond and someone is drowning, do i help them or not? i would help. i believe that the consequences of sin that

host: social conservative turning perkins -- tony perkins talking there.you miss the program, he weighed in on the indiana religious freedom law. you can go to www.c-span.org for the whole thing. good morning, john. your thoughts on senator rand paul running for president? caller: well, i really don't know too much about him, like the rest of them. what gets me is this isolation business all the time. you can look at the worst foreign-policy disasters like going into iraq, and the old -- the whole mess in the middle east designed by the conservatives. if we were not going into iraq they will be yelling isolationism. i would not pay any attention to them. host: the federalist.com has a recent interview with him, a q and a. i will give you some answers. the federalist website, the federalist.com to see more of that. what do you think about senator rand paul? guest: i am a registered democrat and i voted democrat my whole life. i'm 57 years old. and i'm actually looking at rand paul. host: why is that? caller: we need something interesting. i'm sick of the de

ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] announcer: on the next newsmakers, tony perkins. he will, on the recent indiana religious freedom law and the impact conservatives will have on the race. >> the most memorable moment was senator cory gardner saying, you need to be firm in your principles but flexible in the details. i think that it reflects the solution. like the harsh polarization we are seeing in our country and a methodology that if all of the congressmen and women and all of the state legislatures can adopt, we can come together as a country and salt many of our her tenant issues. >> my favorite quote came from the -- of the senate. to be kind to the people that you meet on the way up, you will meet them and can on the way back down. >> often times we have a lack of true statesman. senator john mccain did something very impressive last year, he committed to the veterans affairs reform bill. in maintaining how staying away from torture is essential to the character of our democracy. at the point are we have people who are willing to make these decisions with peo