Rand Paul doesn't believe in gay rights because he's an idiot (and a bigot?)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Rand Paul, supposed libertarian but really not, doesn't much care for the gays. And he certainly doesn't think they have rights:

Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn't buy into the concept of gay rights because they are defined by a gay person's lifestyle.

"I don't think I've ever used the word gay rights, because I don't really believe in rights based on your behavior," the Kentucky Republican told reporters in a videotaped interview that has received little attention since it was recorded in 2013.

But it's unclear how far — and to whom — Paul extends the argument that rights cannot be defined by behavior.

Practicing religion, for example, is a behavior enshrined as a primary American right. Free speech is behavior protected by the Bill of Rights. Likewise, a person's right to be free from discrimination for his or her nation of origin — which entails the behavior of moving from one country to the United States — is embedded in America's civil rights laws and broader code of values.

Exactly, Buzzfeed's Dominic Holden. Exactly.

And of course, contra the anti-gay rhetoric of the right, gay rights does not mean special rights but rather equal rights: the right to be married just like heterosexuals, the right not to be discriminated against (and so to be treated fairly, equally), etc.

And when you've been viciously persecuted throughout history, including in the U.S., and when you still face vicious bigotry, when one of the country's two main parties is basically against you, I think it makes sense to fight for your rights and demand that you be treated fairly and equally.

Even, or especially, if that means doing everything you can to defeat Rand Paul and his vicious ilk.