WASHINGTON, D.C., June 27, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Senator Rand Paul told ABC
News on Wednesday that he
agreed with the Supreme Court decision striking down a key portion of the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the grounds that he believes marriage should
be regulated by states, not the federal government. He praised the author of
the decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy, for trying to “keep up with opinion” on
the issue and said that members of the Republican Party would have to “agree to
disagree” on the definition of marriage.
The Court's 5-4 ruling granted homosexual
couples federal benefits, including tax breaks and entitlements, formerly
reserved to heterosexual married couples, as long as the same-sex partners live
in a state where same-sex “marriage” is legal.
Paul, who is widely expected to be a top
contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, said that he felt
Justice Kennedy's majority opinion “tried to strike a balance” and praised
Kennedy as “someone who doesn’t just want to be in front of opinion but wants
government to keep up with opinion.”
“As a country, we can agree to disagree,” said
Paul. Sen. Paul’s spokesman, Doug Stafford told LifeSiteNews.com on Thursday
that, while Paul personally believes in “traditional marriage between one man
and one woman,” he also “believes the issue is a state issue and not a federal
one.”
He also waded into an intraparty dispute on
whether to cling to marriage or abandon it – and its supporters. The 2012
Republican Party platform
states that “marriage, the union of one man and one woman must be upheld as the
national standard.”
Stafford said Paul does not believe the GOP
should change its platform to accommodate social liberals. He does, however,
feel it should be more open to accepting them into its ranks.
Senator Paul “believes we have to be a party
that tolerates dissent, or rather, agree to disagree with some in our own party,”
Stafford told LifeSiteNews. “He does not believe our party will or should
change itself on these issues. We shouldn't suddenly try to be a pro-choice or
pro-gay marriage party.”
However, Stafford said the senator believes
the Republican Party “can be more tolerant and inclusive on [social] issues.”
Stafford added that those who would prefer
that marriage be preserved at the national level “should think long and hard if
that is a good idea and whether or not you can win there.”
Stafford told LifeSiteNews that Sen. Paul's
comments on Kennedy's decision were meant to offer “a silver lining” and not a
full endorsement.
“Public opinion has no role in constitutional
interpretation,” Stafford said of the senator’s beliefs. “He was saying that
often the judiciary jumps ahead of public opinion, [and] that this really
didn’t do that. Also, that the ruling left open for states to have traditional
marriage as their standard.”
Senator Paul said that Justice Kennedy did not
start a “culture war” by forcing gay nuptials on the 37 states that have
enacted bans.
However, most pro-family
leaders, representing a vital
component of 2016 primary voters, felt the decision represented a particularly stinging
loss in the culture war.
Source:https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/rand-paul-marriage-not-a-defining-republican-issue-gop-can-agree-to-disagree.
Comments
Defining Marriage is not one of the enumerated powers
granted to the federal by the States in the US Constitution (as written). If the States were smart, they would defer
this to the People by assigning this determination to the churches. There are
11 million gays in the US that has a total population of 325 million.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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