Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz sat down with a live audience on Good Morning America Monday, a day ahead of the New York primary, to discuss his position on issues ranging from passing a flat tax to abolishing the IRS. One exchange drawing particular attention dealt with gays and same-sex ‘marriage.” An audience member — a self-proclaimed lifelong Republican — asked what Cruz would do, if elected president, to protect him and his “husband” from “institutionalized discrimination laws” that he sees as emanating from religious freedom laws.

Cruz responded with a brief lesson on religious liberty and the First Amendment, describing religious freedom as “protecting every one of us” — ranging from the Orthodox Jew to the atheist. When asked about his vote for legislation that would effectively overturn last year’s Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, Cruz said he doesn’t believe it should be up to five unelected lawyers in Washington to make a decision about same-sex marriage. Rather, he argued, marriage laws — including whether same-sex marriage should be legal — are a matter for the states, even if that means that states like New York and Texas have different laws.

Here is a brief video of that discussion: