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Texas Town Divided Over Same-Sex Marriage Ruling; What's Next in Same-Sex Marriage Debate; Extra Security Precautions Against Terrorist Threats During July 4th Holiday; Thousands in Greece Take To Streets Prior to Referendum; North Korea Opens New Airport Terminal. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 3, 2015 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[13:30:00] RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But couples like Jim and Joe have been told the proper paperwork has not arrived. But in similar small counties, the logistical issues have been worked out and gay couples like Jonathan Means and Jason White successfully obtained a license while Jim and Joe continue to wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do I come in your office? He said, I don't know. And everything was she didn't know.

NOBLES: Lang's reluctance has sparked a bitter battle from both sides. Religious freedom supporters on one side of the street, gay rights activists on the other. One side defending Lang's right to object --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a message for Katie Lang, you are not alone.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your community is here with you.

NOBLES: -- the other demanding she abide by the Supreme Court's order or quit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get on board we quality or resign today.

NOBLES: And as many Americans come together to celebrate the country's independence, a Texas-sized battle remains over an issue the highest court thought they'd settled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that was Ryan Nobles reporting.

And so this case, it does open up an interesting debate here.

I want to talk about it now with Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University.

Thanks so much for joining us, Jonathan. JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY:

Thank you.

KEILAR: Texas, this is not the only state that has the problem with the decision. You have Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana, to name a few. What happens next?

TURLEY: Look, there are legitimate concerns about the opinion. You don't have to be a bigot to dissent from this opinion. The justices that dissented had some very valid objections to make. I don't agree with them but that is one issue. You can have legitimate concerns.

But there are some forms of on station that are not legitimate. If you're a county clerk, you are bound to comply with the laws of this nation. That's the sort of covenant that we agree to when we created this constitution. We live by the results as a nation committed to the rule of law. Now those county clerks may not agree with it.

KEILAR: But they are a government official so on the flip side you have someone who works in the private sector, someone who bakes cakes or provides other wedding services, and you say that's different.

TURLEY: I do think there are some issues there that concern me about people who have legitimate free speech or free exercise objections to participating in certain weddings or making certain types of products. I don't think we should dismiss those concerns. This happens when rights come into collision with each other. But those clerks are a different issue. What they will face is eventually an order from a court, maybe a federal court, to comply. If they do not comply, they'll be subject to a contempt order. But none of that changes one critical fact. What they're doing is wrong. When they took the oath of their office, when they agreed to serve in this position, they agreed to comply with the laws of this nation. They don't get to pick and choose.

KEILAR: OK, so I want you to listen to something Governor Bobby Jindal said, the governor of Louisiana. This is how he reacted to the ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY JINDAL, (R), GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA: What the left now wants to do is take away our First Amendment rights from Christians and others who believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I don't think the state should be age to discriminate or penalize those that are following their conscience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You're saying there's a difference between people following their conscience, if they are a public official, a government official, or someone who is in the private sector. And you're hearing a lot of Republicans saying when I know it comes to people who object personally, they should be able to exercise that right of their believe. So where do you go when you have that right, religious liberty, confronting what has been decided by the Supreme Court. TURLEY: That's going to be the difficult question of balancing. I

have a piece in "The Washington Post" coming out talking about how we define the scope of this new right. Because the Supreme Court did not say that homosexuals are a protected class. They didn't base this on equal protection grounds. Instead, Justice Kennedy talked about the right of dignity, that's something new for many of us. We're not sure how far that right of dignity goes when it comes into collision with these other rights.

KEILAR: So if you're not sure how far it goes, then you would expect it would be then challenged in court --

TURLEY: That's right.

KEILAR: -- for a better definition. So you see this going through the courts again? And what does that challenge look like, do you think?

TURLEY: We just had a couple days ago a baker hit with a heavy fine because she refused to create a cake for a gay wedding. We've had photographers who said, look, I don't agree with same-sex weddings and I don't want to be a participant in those weddings. You can disagree with those positions but, constitutionally, you have a conflict between the free exercise of religion, free expression, and also the right of homosexuals to be able to engage in commerce, not to be subject to discrimination. That issue has yet to go fully before the Supreme Court. And I think it will. And the answer is going to be difficult. People can't dismiss these interests out of hand.

KEILAR: Settled law, maybe not totally settled law.

TURLEY: That's right, Brianna.

KEILAR: Jonathan Turley, thank you so much for the insight.

TURLEY: Thank you.

[13:35:06] KEILAR: Up next, the threat of terror on this holiday weekend. We'll take a closer look at what is behind these warnings and what you can be prepared to do about them.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Back to our top story, the extra security precautions being taken by law enforcement across the country this Fourth of July weekend. To be clear, as of right now, security officials say there are no concrete threats.

Joining me to talk about the response and the threat this holiday weekend, we have Tom Fuentes, CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director. We're also joined by Kimberly Dozer, CNN global affairs analyst and contributor for "The Daily Beast."

So my first question is this: If there are no credible threats or specific threats, but is that the new normal that some -- there could be intelligence chatter having to do with terrorists and it may or may not inspire some lone wolf that we don't know about until it happens?

[13:40:08] KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think this is our new normal. We've had both counterterrorism officials and senior U.S. officials say they've never seen the threat higher. But it's a diffuse threat. So we spent a lot of time informing the public they should be on their guard but we haven't told them, all right, here's how to be on your guard. And in other countries, where they do face a constant threat, places like Israel or Afghanistan, the public learns to take certain steps when they go to a big public venue, and I think that's what we'd like to share.

KEILAR: We'll talk about that. But that's the front, right, Tom? That you're explaining to people look, if you're going to a big event this July 4th weekend, listen up, there are things you can do and we need to explain those to you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. But the difficulty is in New York City, in Washington, D.C., you have a diverse population. We have a lot of foreign diplomats here in both cities. You have foreign visitors here and then you have Americans from all over the country. So what happens is people come downtown to enjoy the parade, the fireworks, the festival, and they don't look like Mr. and Mrs. America to everybody else. They look difference. They're ethnically different or racially different. Everybody's carrying a backpack because it's going to be a long hot day here, and they'll need cameras and water and --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: So you think there may be profiling?

FUENTES: There's people that can look suspicious that aren't. So now you're trying to weigh that with is it just a decent foreign visitor or converted terrorist or a radicalized terrorist?

KEILAR: Well, there's certainly a very big difference between those two.

FUENTES: But not necessarily in appearance, is my point.

KEILAR: To some people for sure, I will give you that, as they may be perceiving it. I don't know.

DOZIER: But you're saying in terms of "see something, say something" that people have to start educating themselves on what is generally suspicious.

FUENTES: But in a way, they can't unless they can read minds because if you see somebody like that, you're ready to say something. Will there be profiling of a lot of innocent people based on that because somebody saw something they perceive as suspicious?

KEILAR: Let's talk about the consumer -- almost consumer tips in a way. What do you tell people to do if they're going to events? What should they pay attention to that they don't normally?

DOZIER: When I looked at various web sites, Homeland Security, et cetera, I asked myself, is there a checklist so that when people go to so they go to a public venue, they can think about things? I found one on the FEMA site, ready.gov, Make a Plan. They say if you're at a large event and something happens, beforehand you should have already arranged with your kids or friends a rendezvous point. You should have one person not at the event be the person you text, don't call, because the lines are probably overloaded, with texts to say, "I'm OK and I'm at X location." With your kids, you can fill out this form where you have your contact numbers. But a map to the rendezvous point you draw to the kids so they can get there, just in case they're 10 feet away when the crowd panics over something. So these are steps you can take everyday at any event so that you don't stop living or avoid going out to something like a Fourth of July celebration because the terrorists have you scared.

KEILAR: You make that plan.

And you said --

FUENTES: Also, Brianna, activate -- most smart phones and cell carriers have the system of "Find my phone" or "Find my friend." Activate it so you can track where your friends or family are if they get lost in a crowd. Even without a terrorist act, just get lost in a half-million person crowd.

KEILAR: And use text.

You mentioned, in the case of Virginia Tech, the parents so worried about their children who were able to get through.

(CROSSTALK)

FUENTES: Texting requires much less bandwidth so you'll get a busy signal if making a cell phone call but the text is more likely to go through.

KEILAR: And real quick, where's the plan again?

DOZIER: It's at ready.gov, Make a Plan.

KEILAR: Ready.gov, Make a Plan.

OK, Kimberly, Tom, thank you so much. Really important information.

FUENTES: Thank you.

KEILAR: And happening right now, in Athens, Greece -- we have like pictures to show you -- there are people by the thousands taking to the streets there. There are separate rallies both for and against European financial bailout. On the left side of your screen, those are the yes supporters. On the right side, the no supporters. As the country is preparing for a critical vote this Sunday, our Richard Quest sorts it out for us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:48:48] (BELL TOLLING)

KEILAR: Today, a moment of silence across Britain.

(BELL TOLLING)

KEILAR: Just the bellow of Big Ben piercing the silence as people across Britain, including Queen Elizabeth, honoring the victims of the bloody terror attack at a Tunisian beach resort last week. 30 British citizens were among the 38 victims. The British embassy in Tunisia also held a memorial service on the beach as you saw right there. Armed guards -- armed security guards standing watch over that service.

And happening now, dueling rallies in Athens, Greece. We have live pictures to show you. This coming ahead of Sunday's referendum. One rally is taking place near the stadium, the other is happening near the parliament building. This, all ahead of Greeks going to the polls to vote either yes or no on a bailout deal that, one, has already expired at this point. European officials warning that a "no" vote will lead to a Greek exit from the Eurozone.

CNN's Richard Quest is joining me from Athens.

The Greek government already rejected the bailout. Europe has allowed it to expire. Tell us -- explain to us why this referendum is taking place.

[13:50:32] RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This referendum is taking place so the people of Greece can decide if they want to go down the road for austerity or give the government the opportunity to negotiate a better deal and, if the government fails, risk of leaving the Eurozone.

Brianna, I cannot tell you tonight, here, there are -- I'm not an expert at gauging crowds, but there must be 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people in the main square waiting to hear the prime minister, who is going to address them in about 15, 20 minutes from now. There's another similar rally being held just about two miles away on the other side.

(SHOUTING)

QUEST: Listen to it.

(SHOUTING)

QUEST: They are shouting, "No, no." That's what they are shouting, because that's what they want the people to vote on Sunday.

KEILAR: It's something that -- this is very much about the future of Greece, Richard, and these are pocketbook issues. You have banks that have shut down, ATM withdrawals limited to 60 Euros a day, no one wants to accept credit cards there. Without more emergency funds, how is Greece going to cope? QUEST: Because, fundamentally, the government says, if you vote no,

that will force the Europeans, who don't want Greece to leave the Euro, that will force the Europeans to negotiate a better deal. That's the strategy. It's risky. It's untested. And it could backfire spectacularly.

And I think you're right, Brianna, the Greek people here tonight, they believe -- on both sides -- I'm not being partisan here. Both sides believe they are fighting tooth and nail, fundamentally, for the soul, the political future, for the economic direction of this country.

KEILAR: And it's so loud where you are there as people demonstrate, Richard Quest. We know you have to yell over the crowd, and sorry about your little choke-up. Grab a glass of water because you have a long day and a weekend ahead of you.

Thanks, Richard.

Coming up, we have an exclusive report from North Korea, which has just opened a new airport terminal that some are calling stunning. We're going to take you inside, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:36] KEILAR: Now to the reclusive nation of North Korea. Most people who live there do so under the strain of constant food and electrical shortages, but its leader, a man known as Kim Jong-Un, continues to spend what little money the country has on extravagant construction projects. His latest, a new terminal added to the international airport in Pyongyang.

CNN's Will Ripley got this exclusive look at this new terminal. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm inside Pyongyang's brand new airport terminal. It just opened up. We're one of the first flights out. Only a handful of flights take off from Pyongyang in the course of a week but this was clearly built with the hope and the idea that that number will grow.

One thing we noticed while flying in here, there were a lot of soldiers were working on the runway. In fact, soldiers played a huge role in getting this completed rather quickly. North Korea uses its massive military as a construction force.

The supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un, we're told played a personal role in the design and development of this airport, inspecting it. In fact, he was seen conducting a field inspection after it opened, reportedly very happy with its progress.

People are pretty relaxed about having their picture taken, which is quite unusual for North Korea, where a lot of times traditionally people have shied away from the camera.

Hello. How are you?

The airport even has a convenience store where you can pick up a snack before your flight and there's a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables similar to the grocery stores that you see around Pyongyang. Even frozen items, although, I'm not sure how you would carry that on the plane.

There's also a book shop for in-flight reading. Of course, all the literature about supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un, his father, Kim Jong-Il, and, of course, the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung. A lot of people you see there buying things to read before they get on the plane.

OK, our flight is boarding now so it's time to go. A lot to explore here at North Korea's brand-new international airport.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, in North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: No Oprah books, I'm sure that's right.

That's it for me. Thanks so much for joining us. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room," where I'll be joined by the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ed Royce.

"NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.