Nick Gillespie: Is Rand Paul Really Worried About Inter-Species Marriage?

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Glenn Beck,"If we have no laws on this, people take it to one extension further – does it have to be humans? You know?"

Throughout the rest of the day, Paul walked back his statement. That's all to the good, writes Nick Gillespie, though the senator's immediate reaction not only increases anxiety about GOP attitudes towards gays and lesbians, it's at odds with Paul's own calls for a more inclusive and diverse Republican Party. Writes Gillespie,

Paul's immediate reaction to the Supreme Court ruling is at odds with his expansive view of a party that needs "to be like the rest of America." In an age of prolonged recession caused by government interference in the economy, of prolonged overseas wars caused by government recklessness in both articulating and prosecuting foreign policy, and of prolonged deficits caused by an inability to reel in the size, scope, and spending of government at all levels, Rand Paul has the right message and the right solutions. Trepidation about gay marriage, or pot legalization (another issue that has majority support), or other social issues just shouldn't figure into his discussions about paring back the state.