In 2 separate venues, Kentucky Senator
Rand Paul has weighed in on marriage equality.
At an event Wednesday in Iowa, Paul, a
possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate, was asked whether he would
support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a
heterosexual union.
“I'm in favor of the concept,” he
said. “I am in favor of traditional marriage, and I think that's
been the foundation for civilization for thousands of years. I don't
want to register my guns in Washington or my marriage. … I'd rather
see it be a local issue, not a federal issue.”
In an upcoming story titled Has the
Libertarian Moment Finally Arrived? set to run in Sunday's New
York Times Magazine, Paul added that the Republican Party must
adapt to the reality on the ground.
“The party can't become the opposite
of what it is,” Paul said. “If you tell people from Alabama,
Mississippi or Georgia, 'You know what, guys, we've been wrong, and
we're gonna be the pro-gay-marriage party,' they're either gonna stay
home or – I mean, many of these people joined the Republican Party
because of these social issues. So I don't think we can completely
flip. But can we become, to use the overused term, a bigger tent? I
think we can and can agree to disagree on a lot of these issues. I
think the party will evolve. It’ll either continue to lose, or
it’ll become a bigger place where there's a mixture of opinions.”
HRC
President Chad Griffin responded: “I can't decide whether to be
disturbed or pleased, so I've settled on confused. I just hope that
when the libertarian from Kentucky heads to Iowa and New Hampshire,
he doesn't leave his love of liberty at home. The Republican party
must move forward on this issue. The clock is ticking, three
marriage cases have already reached the Supreme Court, and there is
no doubt that this issue will cause the GOP enormous pain in 2016 if
they don't engage in a meaningful way, and fast.”