Rand Paul on same-sex marriage: ‘People ought to be treated fairly under the law’

PinkNews logo with white background and rainbow corners

Despite stopping short of actually endorsing same-sex marriage, Republican Rand Paul, who this month launched a bid to become President has said “people ought to be treated fairly under the law.”

In an interview with CNN, as well as saying he believes in “the traditional religious connotation” of marriage, he went on to say “I also believe people ought to be treated fairly under the law.”

“And you probably could have both,” he continued. “You could have both traditional marriage, which I believe in. And then you could also have the neutrality of the law that allows people to have contracts with another.”

Rand Paul is the son of former Republican and Libertarian candidate Ron Paul, who has unsuccessfully run for President in 1988, 2008 and 2012.

The Kentucky Senator earlier this year claimed it was offensive to refer to same-sex marriage as same-sex marriage.

He said previously of equal marriage: “We didn’t have to call it marriage, which offends myself and a lot of people.

“But I think 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.”

Despite his claims, the Republican party has long opposed not just same-sex marriage, but also any form of civil union that recognises same-sex couples.