The Detroit Free Press reported recently that Rand Paul, Ben Carson and Scott Walker will all be hosting campaign events in Michigan today. Meanwhile, new state-based polling data from the Public Religion Research Institute shows that Michigan voters favor marriage equality by an overwhelming margin: 56 percent to 37 percent. View more on that poll HERE.

“More than 70 percent of Americans already live in a state where marriage equality is the law of the land, and nationally, more than 6 in 10 Americans recognize that all committed couples deserve the right to marry,” said JoDee Winterhof, Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs. “Once again, opponents of LGBT equality like Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Ben Carson find themselves swimming against the current of public opinion on the campaign trail.”

Background

Walker Said “The Appropriate Route” Is To Pursue Federal Constitutional Amendment “That Would Allow Each State To Decide On Their Own.” Capital Times reported, “Asked whether he would support [Steve King’s] bill [Preventing federal courts from hearing marriage cases], or if he supports the concept, Walker said this: ‘One, again I hope the Supreme Court upholds that, which would make that a moot issue. But as an alternative … I think the appropriate route is for people across America who care deeply about this issue to pursue a constitutional amendment allowing the states to determine what the definition is.’ Asked for clarification on whether Walker was referring to a constitutional amendment at the federal level or advocating for each individual state to take up the effort, Our American Revival spokeswoman AshLee Strong said he was referring to ‘a constitutional amendment that would allow each state to decide on their own.’” [The Capital Times, Madison, WI, 4/30/2015]

AUGUST 2014:  Paul Said He Was “In Favor Of The Concept” Of A Constitutional Amendment To Ban Same Sex Marriage.  Asked whether he would support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, Rand Paul said  “I’m in favor of the concept.  I am in favor of traditional marriage, and I think that’s been the foundation for civilization for thousands of years. And the loss of the idea of marriage is probably the leading cause of poverty in our country, in the sense that if you kids before you’re married, your chance of being in poverty is three of four times that of anyone else.” [Rand Paul, West Side Conservative Club, Urbandale, IA, 8/6/2014]

Carson Said Federal Ruling Declaring Alabama’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional “Is An Example Of Why Such A Matter Should Be Left To State Judges.” ABC News reported that responding to a federal judges ruling striking Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban, “Dr. Ben Carson, the former neurosurgeon and conservative favorite, was by far the most specific of the possible candidates writing in a statement the issue should be left to the states saying, ‘The ruling by Alabama federal Judge Callie Granade to strike down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional is an example of why such a matter should be left to state judges.’” [ABC News, 2/10/2015]

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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