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Paul Ryan Says Gay Marriage Is Not An 'American' Or 'Universal Human Value'

Paul Ryan: Gay Marriage Is Not An 'American' Or 'Universal Human Value'
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Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan reiterated his well-known opposition to same-sex marriage in Cincinnati today.

As ThinkProgress noted of this CNN clip, Ryan responded to an audience member's question by declaring, "The things you talk about like traditional marriage and family and entrepreneurship...these aren’t values that are indicative to any one person or race or creed or color."

Ryan, who is also adamantly anti-abortion, then went on to note, "These are American values, these are universal human values."

The Wisconsin congressman's statement, however blunt it may be, should come as little surprise to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates. As The New Civil Rights Movement points out, Ryan currently has a zero percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a mere 13 percent rating from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Ryan's marriage equality statement follows a less rigid stance on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which recently marked its one-year anniversary. Though Ryan voted in 2010 -- along with most Republicans and several Democrats -- against the repeal of the policy that prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, he said re-instating it would be a mistake.

"I talked to a lot of good friends of mine who are combat leaders in the theater, and they just didn't think the timing of this was right to do this when our troops were in the middle of harm's way in combat," Ryan said in an inteview. "Now that it's done, we should not reverse it. I think that would be a step in the wrong direction because people have already disclosed themselves."

He then concluded, "I think this issue is past us. It's done. And I think we need to move on."

Take a look at the results of a Logo TV survey of LGBT voters in the 2012 presidential election below:

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Before You Go

Logo TV Survey Results
(01 of10)
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One out of five LGBT voters say would consider voting for Mitt Romney if he held the same position on gay rights as President Obama. (credit:AP)
(02 of10)
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One out of every four LGBT voters (26 percent) said they'd be more likely to vote Republican if the GOP held the same positions on LGBT rights as the Democratic party. (credit:AP)
(03 of10)
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The survey finds that both general population voters (48 percent) and LGBT voters (67 percent) are currently leaning toward re-electing President Obama over Mitt Romney. (credit:AP)
(04 of10)
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Support for same-sex marriage went from 31 percent in 2007 among all adults to 52 percent in 2012 among likely voters. (credit:Alamy)
(05 of10)
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Forty-nine percent of the population says they'd be more likely to vote for a political candidate who supports legislation to define and prevent bullying of LGBT youth. (credit:Alamy)
(06 of10)
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The economy was named as the most important issue in deciding the 2012 presidential election vote by both LGBT people (18 percent) and the general population voters (24 percent) surveyed. (credit:AP)
(07 of10)
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Forty-eight percent of general population voters said they out be more likely to vote for a political candidate who supported laws prohibiting workplace discrimination of LGBT people, compared with just 14 percent who said they would be less likely. (credit:AP)
(08 of10)
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Thirty-eight percent of general population voters said they'd be more likely to vote for the candidate who supports legal recognition of same-sex marriage. (credit:Alamy)
(09 of10)
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Of the general population voters polled, 41 percent said they'd be more likely to vote for the political candidate who would continue to allow LGBT people to serve openly in the military. (credit:AP)
(10 of10)
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Thirty-six percent of general population voters polled said they'd vote for the candidate who'd support adoptions by same-sex couples. (credit:Alamy)
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