Tagged: Kentucky

When it comes to gay marriage, America is moving in a direction of growing acceptance while Kentucky remains steadfastly opposed.

National figures show a majority in the country back the idea, which has changed at a rapid pace in the past decade.

Rhode Island took a historic step and is set to become the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage. A new lobbying group founded by prominent conservative donor Paul Singer is pushing for gay marriage legislation as more Republicans join the cause to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.

Even two prominent Kentucky Democrats—Auditor Adam Edelen and Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson—came out in favor or marriage equality.

But new poll numbers indicate Kentuckians are still overwhelmingly against same-sex couples getting hitched with 65 percent opposed. The opposition isn't based on political party either because the PPP survey shows 54 percent of Democratic voters are against the idea.

Joining a Democratic colleague, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie Kentucky is introducing a bipartisan bill to give federal judges more flexibility when issuing mandatory minimum sentences.

A survey conducted by Public Policy Polling shows Kentucky voters still overwhelmingly oppose same-sex marriage despite national trends.

The poll was taken in early April, and it finds 65 percent think it should remain illegal and only 27 percent support marriage equality for gay, lesbian and transgendered couples.

That is in stark contrast to national figures that indicate marriage equality is gaining popularity across the country and for the first time hovers well over 50 percent. A number of Republican and Democratic senators have come out for marriage equality in recent weeks such as Democrat Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio.

But in Kentucky the idea faces solid opposition regardless of political party. According to PPP, 54 percent of Democratic voters in the state also oppose gay marriage while only 37 percent support it.

The Rev. Maurice Blanchard of Louisville says LGBT residents are getting tired of defending their relationships, adding Kentucky is falling behind the times.

"Those poll shows how disconnected some people are in this state to what’s happening on a larger sense. And that resistance while they’re proud of it is isolating and alienating us from the progress that’s taking place in the larger sense," he says.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said the GOP has "grown stale and moss covered" and needs to embrace libertarianism.

"The new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere. If we're going to have a Republican Party that can win, liberty needs to be the backbone of the GOP," he said.

For many conservatives, Paul's nearly 13-hour filibuster of CIA director John Brennan in protest of President Obama's drone policies puts him at the head of the line for presidential contenders in 2016.

The high-profiled speech gave Paul a chance to court the so-called "Facebook generation" on privacy matters, and explain why he favors limits on presidential power.

Paul's remarks also gave him a chance to rebuke GOP rival and fellow Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who right before Paul's speech said the party didn't need new ideas.

Watch the full speech:

After a lengthy partisan battle that lasted hours into the night, a bill that would allow Kentuckians to ignore laws that they say violate their religious beliefs cleared the state Senate.

Supporters say the "Religious Freedom Act" sponsored by Rep. Robert Damron, D-Nicholasville, would protect religion from government encroachment. WFPL's Phillip Bailey reported earlier this week: