Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) mocked President Barack Obama's support of same-sex marriage, saying he wasn't sure his comments "could get any gayer."
Paul made his comments at Iowa's Faith Coalition meeting two days after Obama announced that he supported same-sex marriage. Paul said, "Call me cynical, but I wasn't sure his views on marriage could get any gayer."
The Kentucky Republican attended the event to drum up support for his father and GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. "He said the biblical golden rule caused him to be for gay marriage," Paul said. "I'm like what version of the Bible is he reading?"
Paul's comments drew some heat from unlikely sources, including a pair of conservative leaders that took to Sunday morning talk shows to express disagreement of the Kentucky senator's choice of words.
"I don't think this is something we should joke about," Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said on CBS' Face the Nation. "We are talking about individuals who feel very strongly one way or the other, and I think we should be civil, respectful, allowing all sides to have the debate … I think this is not something to laugh about. It's not something to poke fun at other people about. This is a very serious issue."
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus also voiced his concerns on Paul's statement during his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.
"People in this country, no matter straight or gay deserve dignity and respect. However, that doesn't mean it carries on to marriage," Priebus said. "I think that most Americans agree that in this country, the legal and historic and the religious union, marriage has to have the definition of one man and one union."
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