Ron Paul says gay marriage, abortion decisions should be left to states
Ron Paul speaks at the Iowa Memorial Union, Monday March 7, 2011, in Iowa City. (Becky Malewitz/SourceMedia Group News)
IOWA CITY — Issues such as gay marriage and abortion are decisions that should fall to individual states and not the federal government, Texas Congressman Ron Paul said during a stop in Iowa City Monday.
Paul said because of his personal beliefs he is opposed to abortion and he supports the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law that allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex partnerships legally recognized in other states. President Obama recently instructed the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Paul said he doesn’t agree with Obama’s instruction because he thinks the president’s goal “is really to undermine state law that defines marriage.” One goal of the Defense of Marriage Act was to protect state laws, Paul said, adding he believes marriage is a very personal religious matter that ideally should not involve government.
But it’s among the issues that constitutionally should be dealt with at the state level, the Republican told an enthusiastic crowd of about 250 people Monday during the University of Iowa stop.
“The more difficult the problem is, the greater the need to satisfy things locally,” he said.
The potential 2012 presidential candidate also made a stop in Pella Monday, as part of the Presidential Lecture Series sponsored by the conservative Iowa-based group The Family Leader, led by Bob Vander Plaats.
Paul touted his message of limited federal government and strong personal liberty. He said the federal government has no place in education and he believes income tax should be abolished. The economy is an issue with moral underpinnings, Paul said, calling the escalating federal debt immoral and the federal bailout of undeserving entities immoral.
“I’m the one that’s not for big government. I”m the one that’s for less government,” Paul said. “My confidence in the individual is so great … I believe not only that you have the right to take care of yourself, but you have the obligation to take care of yourself.”
We have been lackadaisical as a nation, Paul said, allowing the federal government to take over, telling us how to live and how to spend our money.
“We’ve allowed too many to go to Washington that did not take seriously their oath of office to obey the Constitution,” he said.
When asked why some Christian political groups are not keen on his message despite some fundamental similarities, Paul said he thinks his foreign policy stance may cause the biggest rift. He is strongly opposed to the current wars, and he only wants war fought when it’s declared constitutionally, Paul said.
Ron Paul speaks at the Iowa Memorial Union, Monday March 7, 2011, in Iowa City. (Becky Malewitz/SourceMedia Group News)
Ron Paul speaks to media before his speech at the Iowa Memorial Union, Monday March 7, 2011, in Iowa City. (Becky Malewitz/SourceMedia Group News)
Ron Paul speaks at the Iowa Memorial Union, Monday March 7, 2011, in Iowa City. (Becky Malewitz/SourceMedia Group News)
The reason that “some Christian political groups are not keen on his message” is due to the fact that the leaders of those particular groups are probably still in bed with the neocon “moneychangers” in the Republican party; the same ones that are hanging on by a thread for their very survival since they were neutered and put on parole by the Tea Party. People like Ralph Reed are nothing more than altar boys for their perverted political masters in the castrated Republican establishment. It’s no wonder why these morally bankrupt groups would shun an honest man like Ron Paul.
Ron Paul 2012!
We will need strong leadership in the times ahead.
We need a President that will stop corruption – not bath in it.
Go Ron Paul 2012! He has my vote.
Go Ron Paul! You have my vote.
I’m glad to see a clarification of Dr. Paul’s position on DOMA. I still don’t agree with it but I’ll have to specifically look up what DOMA actually entails. Maybe I’m just generalizing it as an anti-gay marriage legislation and there’s more to it. That said, I wish he would just decide not to make a statement on these 3rd rail issues. We have bigger fish to fry, and it’s things like this that’s going to scare away all the potential liberal and progressive supporters Ron can actually get on his side.
The reason some Christian political groups are not keen on Ron Paul’s message isn’t because of foreign policy. It’s because they don’t see government interference in our lives as a problem. They see it as a solution for conforming the masses to their ideological views. Sure, they can go state-by-state to accomplish this; but like many politicians on both sides of the aisles, they decide to go to the federal government. One federal law, and suddenly all states are under the Christian law.
I wish Ron Paul would understand that DOMA wasn’t put on the books to protect state’s rights. It was to implement religious law on the federal government.
DOMA restricts access to federal benefits, even for states where marriage equality is the law. Thus, DOMA already enforces a definition of marriage on all states: heterosexual unions only.
Rep. Paul would have separate but equal discrimination continue at the federal level. He is obviously tacking to the right in order to gain the GOP nomination, much as McCain did in 2008.
We love this guy. He never varies from the truth. He is the only guy criticized by both left and right mainstream talking heads, so it sounds to me like he’s my kind of guy. Break the left-right-same thing system of corrupt power in this country and vote for Ron Paul.
Show me another man in politics who doesn’t take a government pension.
Show me another man in politics who strictly abides by the Constitution.
Show me a man who has represented and been elected to 10 terms in congress and beat 3 incumbent candidates.
Show me another man who knows economics and history so well he predicted the 2008 housing bubble and financial crisis.
Show me a man who knows about health care because he’s a doctor.
Show me this man and I’ll show you the next President of the United States of America, Dr. Ron Paul.
He’s this countries last great hope.