While some Republican presidential candidates urged action to counter the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage, grassroots activists at a conservative conference this weekend said they preferred to focus on limiting the damage.
Several presidential hopefuls at the Western Conservative Summit in the swing state of Colorado called for constitutional amendments or civil disobedience to turn back the Court's landmark ruling on Friday.
But Christian conservatives who have been on the front lines of a battle to stop the advance of gay marriage indicated it was time to cut their losses. Rather, they would prefer to ensure that the ruling would not restrict their ability to practice their religion as they saw fit.
"Our first response is moving at a federal and state level to protect religious freedom," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a Christian conservative group. "You have to secure your base camp."
The calls for action against the ruling came from presidential candidates keen to show their conservative credentials as they compete in a crowded Republican field for the party nomination for the November 2016 election.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum blamed his fellow Republicans for not banning gay marriage nationwide, as he tried to do a decade ago in Congress.
"We have been bullied into silence," Santorum said on Friday. "We're losing because we're not trying to win."
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said states that disagreed with the decision could prevent it from taking effect, even though conservative states like Texas and Kentucky began issuing same-sex marriage licenses after Friday's ruling.
Civil disobedience is also an option, Huckabee said.
"In all of our lives there comes moments where have to decide whether we obey God or we obey a decision we believe is unlawful," he said.
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