Rand Paul says tax code should remove mention of marriage

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that while he believes in the "historic and religious definition of marriage," he believes the federal tax code should be reformed in a way to make it "more neutral" and not exclude same-sex couples.

“I’m an old-fashioned traditionalist. I believe in the historic and religious definition of marriage,” Paul said in an interview with the National Review. “That being said, I’m not for eliminating contracts between adults. I think there are ways to make the tax code more neutral, so it doesn’t mention marriage. Then we don’t have to redefine what marriage is; we just don’t have marriage in the tax code.”

Paul did not address in the interview how he might deal with other advantage and privileges extended to legally wed heterosexual couples, like federal spousal benefits, pension plans, health care, and Social Security survivors benefits.

The Supreme Court will soon hear a pair of cases challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, and California's law banning same-sex marriages. A ruling is expected by June, and gay rights activists hope that a favorable decision could pave the way for gay marriages nationwide.

In an interview that aired Wednesday morning, President Obama said he did not believe laws banning gay marriage would "stand up to constitutional muster."

"My hope is that the Court looks at the evidence and — in the California case, for example, the only reason presented for treating gays and lesbians differently was, 'Well, they’re gay and lesbian.' There wasn’t a real rationale beyond that," Obama told ABC News.

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