Editing Ron Paul (section)

=== Social issues ===
[[File:Ronpaul1.jpg|thumb|Paul at the 2007 [[National Right to Life Committee]] Convention]]

Citing the [[Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Ninth]] and [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Tenth Amendments]], Paul advocates [[states' rights]] to decide how to regulate social matters not cited directly by the Constitution. He opposes federal regulation of such matters as the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]]<ref name=americanview>{{cite web |url=http://theamericanview.com/index.php?id=916 |author=Lofton, John |title=Excerpts From Our Exclusive Ron Paul Interview |date=August 2007 |access-date=October 23, 2007 |work=American View |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008221735/http://theamericanview.com/index.php?id=916&PHPSESSID=ada7ce327a1a2259581f5b52578e6df2 |archive-date=October 8, 2007}}</ref> (although he opposes capital punishment),<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Lew Rockwell |last=Rockwell |first=Lew |date=December 13, 2010 |url=https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/ron-paul-defender-of-human-dignity/ |title=Ron Paul, Defender of Human Dignity |work=LewRockwell.com}}</ref> of education,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Ron_Paul_Education.htm |title=Ron Paul on Education: Republican Representative (TX-14) |work=On the Issues |access-date=October 23, 2007 |date=September 1, 2007}}</ref> of drugs, and of marriage. Regarding [[same-sex marriage]], he stated in 2011 that "My personal opinion is government shouldn't be involved. The whole country would be better off if individuals made those decisions and it was a private matter."<ref name="Shoenberg 2011">{{cite news |last=Shoenberg |first=Shira |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2011/12/20/ron-paul-favors-states-rights-same-sex-marriage-issue/uUyPB49e0k1Yt0OcpBIvnL/story.html |title=Ron Paul favors states' rights on same-sex marriage issue |work=The Boston Globe |date=20 December 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>  He endorsed revising the military's "[[don't ask, don't tell]]" policy to concern mainly disruptive sexual behavior (whether heterosexual or homosexual).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/05/se.01.html |title=Transcript of June 5 "CNN/WMUR/''New Hampshire Union Leader''" Republican presidential debate |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 14, 2008 |date=June 5, 2007 |author=Paul, Ron}}</ref> His abortion-related legislation, such as the [[Sanctity of Life Act]] in 2005, is intended to negate ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' and to get "the federal government completely out of the business of regulating state matters."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who+had+the+right+to+rule%3F+Accusations+about+the+abuses+of...-a0132162835 |title=Who had the right to rule? |publisher=American Opinion Publishing, Inc |work=[[The New American]] |author=Eddlem, Thomas R. |date=May 2, 2005 |access-date=October 5, 2007}}</ref> Paul says his years as an obstetrician led him to believe that life begins at [[Fertilisation|conception]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.teamliberty.net/id447.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018022258/http://www.teamliberty.net/id447.html |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |title=An Interview with Presidential Candidate Congressman Ron Paul |department=Muckraker Report |work=Team Liberty |author=Murtagh, Joseph |date=June 28, 2007 |access-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fitsnews.com/2018/11/28/ron-paul-allow-americans-to-opt-out-of-abortion-and-war/ |title=Ron Paul: Allow Americans to 'Opt Out' of Abortion and War |last=FITSNews |date=November 28, 2018 |language=en-US |access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref>

Paul was critical of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], arguing that it sanctioned federal interference in the labor market and did not improve [[race relations]]. He once remarked: "The Civil Rights Act of 1964 not only violated the Constitution and reduced individual liberty; it also failed to achieve its stated goals of promoting racial harmony and a color-blind society".<ref name=cr1964>{{cite web |last1=Paul |first1=Ron |title=The Trouble With the '64 Civil Rights Act |url=https://www.lewrockwell.com/2004/07/ron-paul/the-trouble-with-the-64-civil-rights-act/ |website=LewRockwell.com |access-date=November 14, 2015 |ref=cr1964}}</ref> Paul opposes [[Affirmative action in the United States|affirmative action]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/ron-paul/#affirmative-action |title=Ron Paul on the Issues |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 22, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220182530/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/ron-paul/ |archive-date=February 20, 2009}}</ref>

Paul opposes the federal [[War on Drugs]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2004/tst051704.htm |title=The War on Drugs is a War on Doctors |author=Paul, Ron |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives |date=April 17, 2004 |access-date=November 14, 2008 |work=[[Congressional Record]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802163713/http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2004/tst051704.htm |archive-date=August 2, 2008}}</ref> and advocates that states should decide whether to regulate or deregulate drugs such as [[Medical cannabis in the United States|medical]] and [[Recreational marijuana|recreational]] marijuana, and other substances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HR02592 |title=H.R. 2592 |date=July 23, 2001 |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=November 14, 2008 |archive-date=July 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722095428/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HR02592 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/what-would-president-ron-pauls-drug-policy-look-like/253620/ |author=Kelsey Harclerode |title=What Would President Ron Paul's Drug Policy Look Like? |date=March 2012 |work=The Atlantic |url-access=limited}}</ref> In 2001, he joined with Democratic Congressman [[Barney Frank]] in helping pass the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (H.R. 2592), an attempt to stop the federal government from preempting states' medical marijuana laws.<ref>{{cite web |author=Frank, Barney |year=2002 |url=http://www.house.gov/frank/medmar2002.html |title=Frank Calls for Action on Medical Marijuana Legislation |publisher=United States House of Representatives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329134329/http://www.house.gov/frank/medmar2002.html |archive-date=March 29, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Paul again partnered with Frank in support of [[online gambling]] rights. In 2006, both strongly opposed H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach [[Internet Gambling Prohibition Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04777: |title=Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777 |date=September 22, 2006 |via=Thomas.loc.gov |access-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018013459/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04777: |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04411: |title=Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411 |date=July 13, 2006 |via=Thomas.loc.gov |access-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-date=November 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081125231725/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04411: |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2018, Paul posted a tweet containing a racist cartoon and a caption which invoked the [[Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory]]. The tweet read "Are you stunned by what has become of American culture? Well, it's not an accident. You've probably heard of 'Cultural Marxism,' but do you know what it means?" The tweet was later deleted with an apology, stating that a staff member had inadvertently posted what Paul described as an "offensive cartoon".<ref name="Tweets Racist Cartoon">{{Cite news |author=<!--anonymous author(s)--> |title=Ron Paul Tweets Racist Cartoon, Blames Staffer In Latest Deflection Of Bigoted Remarks Attributed To Libertarian Hero |date=2 Jul 2018 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/ron-paul-racist-tweet-newsletter-anti-semitic/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |work=CBS News}}</ref><ref name="Riotta 2018">{{Cite news |last=Riotta |first=Chris |date=July 2, 2018 |title=Ron Paul tweets, then deletes racist cartoon |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ron-paul-racism-republican-party-racist-tweet-cultural-marxism-libertarian-a8427781.html |access-date=February 19, 2023 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref name="Mathis-Lilley 2018">{{Cite news |last=Mathis-Lilley |first=Ben |date=July 2, 2018 |title=Ron Paul Becomes Latest Republican to Post Literal Nazi Content |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/ron-paul-racist-caricature-tweet-republican-pattern.html |access-date=February 19, 2023}}</ref>