Rand Paul says he doesn't think LGBT employment protection is necessary

Sen. Rand Paul.
(Image credit: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

In Iowa on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said because "society is rapidly changing" and there are "plenty of places" that will hire someone who is gay, there isn't a need for employment protections for LGBT people.

When the Republican presidential candidate was asked if an employer should be able to fire someone based on their sexual identity, NBC News reports, Paul responded: "I think, really, the things you do in your house, just leave those in your house and they wouldn't have to be a part of the workplace, to tell you the truth." If the LGBT community becomes a protected class, he said, it would "set up a whole industry of people who want to sue. So if you happen to be gay, you get fired — now you have a reason you can fire them. But it's almost impossible sometimes — you know, people don't put up a sign, 'I'm firing you because you're gay.' It's something that's very much disputed. And so I don't know that we need to keep adding to different classification to say the government needs to be involved in the hiring and firing." 


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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.