Santorum: Kim Davis Should 'Follow Her Conscience'

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, who returned to work on Monday, should "follow her conscience," GOP candidate Rick Santorum said, because he believes that Americans have "every obligation" to fight back when the Supreme Court "acts beyond their constitutional authority."

"They wrote extensively about how, after this decision, there had to be accommodations," the former Pennsylvania senator told CNN "New Day" host Chris Cuomo. "Kim Davis has every right to say this should be a religious accommodation."

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He continued that he thinks the state of Kentucky and the federal government instead should pass legislation such as the "First Amendment Defense Act," which provides accommodations for people whose religious convictions differ from the Supreme Court's ruling.

Davis has called for her name to be removed from same-sex marriage licenses, but she won't stop her clerks from issuing them, and Santorum said he agrees with that step.

"I think that's something that that governor could probably do within his own conscience," said Santorum.

The senator also spoke about the upcoming GOP debate on Wednesday, when he'll appear on the earlier of the two debates, and told Cuomo that he plans to keep fighting for his campaign, even though many national polls are placing him at about the 1 percent mark.

"Four and a half months before an election is a lifetime," said Santorum. "Who would have predicted two months ago that Donald Trump would be in the position he was? Nobody. The idea that what's happening now is going to be determinative of what's going to happen in February is not true."

But if Trump is the nominee, Santorum said he'll vote for him, as "he would be superior to what the Democrats would put forward."

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