--- title: Rand Paul: Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business description: Perhaps it is time to be more careful what we ask government to do, and where we allow it to become part of our lives. canonical: https://time.com/3939374/rand-paul-gay-marriage-supreme-court/ author: Rand Paul article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-29T00:15:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:19.776Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Rand Paul: Privatize Marriage og:description: Perhaps it is time to be more careful what we ask government to do, and where we allow it to become part of our lives. og:url: https://time.com/3939374/rand-paul-gay-marriage-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4481e09c788c17b/698858dacd6848f4df0a093c/rand-paul8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Rand Paul og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rand Paul: Privatize Marriage twitter:description: Perhaps it is time to be more careful what we ask government to do, and where we allow it to become part of our lives. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4481e09c788c17b/698858dacd6848f4df0a093c/rand-paul8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rand Paul: Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business Altogether > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=930ebfbb-e263-4b25-adb9-5d9cf4af0a69&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Remembering Stonewall [Watch (HLS stream): Remembering Stonewall](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9UkBhruj.m3u8) (2:53)  _Published 2015-06-26. Watch Stonewall bartender talk about the history of the LGBT movement in NYC_  by [Rand Paul](https://time.com/author/sen-rand-paul/)  ## Rand Paul Jun 29, 2015 12:15 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul waits before addressing a legislative luncheon held as part of the "Road to Majority" conference in Washington on June 18, 2015. Republican presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul waits before addressing a legislative luncheon held as part of the "Road to Majority" conference in Washington on June 18, 2015. Carlos Barria—Reuters  by [Rand Paul](https://time.com/author/sen-rand-paul/)  ## Rand Paul Jun 29, 2015 12:15 AM UTC While I disagree with Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage, I believe that all Americans have the right to contract. The Constitution is silent on the question of marriage because marriage has always been a local issue. Our founding fathers went to the local courthouse to be married, not to Washington, D.C. I’ve often said I don’t want my guns or my marriage registered in Washington. Those who disagree with the recent Supreme Court ruling argue that the court should not overturn the will of legislative majorities. Those who favor the Supreme Court ruling argue that the 14th Amendment protects rights from legislative majorities. Do consenting adults have a right to contract with other consenting adults? Supporters of the Supreme Court’s decision argue yes but they argue no when it comes to economic liberties, like contracts regarding wages. It seems some rights are more equal than others. Marriage, though a contract, is also more than just a simple contract. I acknowledge the right to contract in all economic and personal spheres, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a danger that a government that involves itself in every nook and cranny of our lives won’t now enforce definitions that conflict with sincerely felt religious convictions of others. Some have argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling will now involve the police power of the state in churches, church schools, church hospitals. This may well become the next step, and I for one will stand ready to resist any intrusion of government into the religious sphere. Justice Clarence Thomas is correct in his dissent when he says: “In the American legal tradition, liberty has long been understood as individual freedom from governmental action, not as a right to a particular governmental entitlement.” The government should not prevent people from making contracts but that does not mean that the government must confer a special imprimatur upon a new definition of marriage. Perhaps the time has come to examine whether or not governmental recognition of marriage is a good idea, for either party. Since government has been involved in marriage, they have done what they always do — taxed it, regulated it, and now redefined it. It is hard to argue that government’s involvement in marriage has made it better, a fact also not surprising to those who believe government does little right. So now, states such as Alabama are beginning to understand this as they begin to get out of the marriage licensing business altogether. Will others follow? Thomas goes on to say: --- > “” --- The 14th Amendment does not command the government endorsement that is conveyed by the word “marriage.” State legislatures are entitled to express their preference for traditional marriage, so long as the equal rights of same-sex couples are protected. So the questions now before us are: What are those rights? What does government convey along with marriage, and should it do so? Should the government care, or allocate any benefits based on marital status? And can the government do its main job in the aftermath of this ruling — the protection of liberty, particularly religious liberty and free speech? We shall see. I will fight to ensure it does both, along with taking part in a discussion on the role of government in our lives. Perhaps it is time to be more careful what we ask government to do, and where we allow it to become part of our lives. The Constitution was written by wise men who were raised up by God for that very purpose. There is a reason ours was the first where rights came from our creator and therefore could not be taken away by government. Government was instituted to protect them. We have gotten away from that idea. Too far away. We must turn back. To protect our rights we must understand who granted them and who can help us restore them. ### See Some of the First Gay Marriages in These States  George Harris, center left, 82, and Jack Evans, center right, 85, kiss after being married by Judge Garcia in Dallas on Friday, June 26, 2015. Tony Gutierrez—AP  Miesha Stinson, left, and Tiarra Harris, of Ypsilanti, Mich., embrace after exchanging vows in Ann Arbor, Mich., on June 26, 2015. Paul Sancya—AP  Jaque Roberts, left, and her partner of 31 years, Carmelita Cabello, right, arrive to apply for their marriage license at the Travis County building in Austin on June 26, 2015,. Eric Gay—AP  Ethan Fletcher, left, and Andrew Hickam fill out their marriage paperwork at Hamilton County Probate Court in Cincinnati on June 26, 2015. John Minchillo—AP  Emma Foulkes, left, and Petrina Bloodworth hold hands and show their wedding rings after being married at the Foulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on June 26, 2015. John Bazemore—AP  Tony Chiaro, left, and Earnie Matheson, right, embrace after exchanging vows in the first same sex marriage performed in Pulaski County, in Little Rock, Ark. on June 26, 2015. Brian Chilson—AP  Janelle Ebone, right, puts her arm around her partner, Christine, left, as she shows off their marriage license at the Travis County building in Austin on June 26, 2015. Eric Gay—AP  Beverly Reicks, right, and Kathy Petterson, the first same sex couple to wed in Omaha, Neb., leave the Douglas County Clerk's office on June 26, 2015. Nati Harnik—AP  Breanne Brodak, left, and Cortney Tucker kiss after being married by Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown in Pontiac, Mich. on June 26, 2015. Carlos Osorio—AP ## Transcript Before the Stonewall riots, it was a different time. The Homosexuals, with CBS News Correspondent Mike Wallace. Homosexuality is an enigma. Even in this era of bold sexual mores, it remains a subject that people find disturbing. There were a lot of people living in the village, but mostly, people were bridge and tunnel. I came from Brooklyn or Queens for the weekend. My friends all did from Long Island, and it was a lot of fun. I mean, it was closeness, because a lot of people, family didn't know that their sons and daughters were gay. I've been at Stonewall on and off 45 years on this block 47 years. We come here once in a while to dance. The windows were painted black and blocked of. If you had dressed as a woman you had on three articles of male clothing underneath. And if you're a woman dressed as a man, same thing. Otherwise you went to jail for impersonation. Cuz remember, gay life was a disease in those days. [ MUSIC ] 1969, when the police raided the bar, nobody knew what was gonna happen. They were pushing and shoving everybody around it. These guys were nasty. And people fought back. Nobody knows that spark that started it, but people saying, " Oh [ BLEEP ], we've had enough ." And after it was over, we figured that's it. It was a raid. We looked at it as a raid. It was over. Nothing was going to happen anymore. Who knew? But the Stonewall rebellion made every newspaper, was on television every day. And people just killed after that, newspaper articles, magazines which made it bigger and bigger until we became where it all started. [ CROSSTALK ] Sylviarivera was one of the icons in the village in those days, and she would preach to people about equality. We didn't even understand drag queens, and cross dressers, and transgenders because we were just used to us. And Silvia was always fighting for the rights of everybody, she's like one of the originals. She would talk to people at Lamder, the Madison society, everything to get equality. But nobody would listen in those days. Revolution now ! >> We got to teach the younger generation what the older generation went through for them. but we fought hard for them because they're going to carry it on. 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