Rand Paul Says the Word 'Marriage' Applied to Gays Offends Him

What's in a name?

In a move that will more or less cost him the gay vote, 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Rand Paul, a self-proclaimed libertarian conservative said that same-sex marriage offends him, The Independent reports.

In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier Friday, following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling that legalized nationwide marriage equality, Paul said that while he supports civil unions, the word "marriage" used for same-sex couples "offends" him.

"I'm for traditional marriage. I think marriage is between a man and a woman," the Kentucky senator told Baier. "Ultimately, we could have fixed this a long time ago if we just allowed contracts between adults. We didn't have to call it marriage, which offends myself and a lot of people."

Paul's comments on marriage are in stark contrast to the libertarian ideals that he purports to hold which are the primacy of individual judgment and freedom on all issues.

"But I think competing contracts that would give them equivalency before the law would have solved a lot of these problems and it may be where we're still headed." Paul continued.

According to a Huffington Post aggregate of various polls, Senator Paul has 8.5% of the vote. He is polling behind Jeb Bush (12%), Donald Trump (11.3%), Ben Carson (10.7%), Marco Rubio (10.4%), and Scott Walker (9.2%).