Rand Paul just reinforced his position on civil rights once again.
Rand Paul is spending the day in Iowa talking to college students, and reportedly live streamed his entire day via Twitter’s Periscope app.
LATEST UPDATE –
Watch: Rand Paul Scrambles To Fix His Claim That Gay Workers Should Stay Closeted
LA Times political writer Seema Mehta, who is following the Paul campaign, reports that the Kentucky Libertarian Republican Senator and GOP presidential candidate just said that it’s OK to fire LGBT people because they can just go to work elsewhere.
This is wholly in keeping with Paul’s previous comments on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which he told MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow in 2010 that he did not support. He later, MSNBC claims, lied about having said that, but it’s on tape.
Reporter Samantha-Jo Roth adds this to Paul’s claim that it’s OK to fire LGBT workers:
Paul also told students that gay people shouldn’t be openly gay if they want to keep their jobs, according to TIME Correspondent Phil Elliott:
“I think, really, the things you do in your house, just leave those in your house and they wouldn’t have to be a part of the workplace, to tell you the truth,” Paul told the students.
NEW:Â Rand Paul Slammed For Telling LGBT Workers To Stay In The Closet To Avoid Being Fired
MSNBC political reporter Benjy Sarlin had this response:
Paul appears to have made those remarks at Drake University.Â
UPDATE I: 5:55 PM EDT –
“Paul said he believed adding protections for gay workers ‘sets up a whole industry for people who want to sue,’ and that it would be ‘almost impossible sometimes” to know whether a person was fired for their sexuality or another reason,” Seema Mehta at the LA Times adds.Â
UPDATE II: 6:33 PM EDT –
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jAjcYZWYoA
UPDATE III: 6:36 PM EDT –
Hillary Clinton weighs in:
Some responses via Twitter:
Â
Â
This is a breaking news story and may be updated. Details may change.
Image by Rand Paul via TwitterÂ