Libertarian Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul came out swinging against same-sex marriage in an attempt to appeal to the far right this week.
Rand Paul, who draws his power and popularity from the younger libertarian segment of the Republican Party, Friday attacked same-sex marriage. 61 percent of Republican adults 30 years old and younger support the right of same-sex couples to marry.
“I’m for traditional marriage,†the U.S. Senator from Kentucky told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “I think marriage is between a man and a woman. Ultimately, we could have fixed this a long time ago if we just allowed contracts between adults. We didn’t have to call it marriage, which offends myself and a lot of people.â€
Calling marriage between different-sex couples marriage but between same-sex couples something else is the essence of “separate but equal,” a policy tried and failed countless times across decades of America’s Jim Crow and slavery years.Â
“I think having competing contracts that would give them equivalency before the law would have solved a lot of these problems, and it may be where we’re still headed,” the 52-year old former ophthalmologist said.
Laws creating all the benefits of marriage while not calling the union marriage have been found to be unconstitutional.
Last month, during the measles outbreak, news broke the Sen. Paul until recently had been a longtime member of a fringe medical group whose beliefs include AIDS denialism and the false claim that autism is caused by vaccines.
And last summer, Sen. Paul announced he supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, claiming social issues like banning marriage equality and abortion define the GOP.
In Senator Paul’s interview with Fox News on Friday, he also told Bret Baier he would eliminate the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Dept. of Energy, and the U.S. Dept. of Education.
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Image: Screenshot via Fox News
Hat tip: The Washington Blade
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