Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump are both to the left of. . . Jeb Bush when it comes to defending the livelihoods of gay marriage dissenters, as Bush made clear in a forum in Greenville, S.C.:

Bush also shared his views on religious liberty at the forum and during his interview with The Greenville News.

He said he was surprised but “pleased” to learn that Pope Francis had met privately during his recent trip to the United States with Kim Davis, the Kentucky court clerk who went to jail rather than sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples. (The Vatican clarified later that she was part of a group and did not have a private audience with him.)

Bush, a Catholic, said small businesses such as bakers or florists should not be compelled to sell goods or services for a gay wedding, though they should be barred from discriminating against gay customers outside of the wedding context.

“I think that’s the common ground where a majority of Americans feel comfortable,” he told The Greenville News. “They don’t want to have people discriminated against, and they don’t want to force people to go against deeply held religious views.”

I wish he would explicitly endorse the First Amendment Defense Act, but he is so much better than the supposed outsiders at taking the real heat in this race.

Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at American Principles in Action.