Huffingtonpost
UPDATE: The endorsement no longer appears on Paul’s website, according to TPM. Here is a screenshot of the endorsement via blogger Doug Mataconis.

PREVIOUSLY:

Ron Paul’s campaign is touting the endorsement of Phillip G. Kayser, an Iowa pastor who believes in imposing the death penalty on homosexuals, reports Talking Points Memo.

“We welcome Rev. Kayser’s endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul’s approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs,” said Paul’s Iowa chairman, Drew Ivers, in a recent press release on Paul’s campaign website.

“Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just,” wrote Kayser in a recent pamphlet. “But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative.” Kayser added that homosexuals could be prosecuted only after the law was enacted.

TPM adds that Paul’s Iowa state director, Mike Heath, led the Christian Civic League of Maine. In that position, he called on his supporters in 2004 to email him with information on the sexual orientation of the state’s political leaders.

Paul has had one of the more pro-gay rights records among Republicans in Congress. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. However, he still supports the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and allows states not to recognize other states’ same-sex marriages. “Like the majority of Iowans, I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and must be protected,” he said in February.

Eric Dondero, a former senior aide to Paul, recently explained Paul’s stance on gay rights in light of racist and homophobic newsletters written under his name in the 1980s and 90s that have resurfaced. “He is not all bigoted towards homosexuals. He supports their rights to do whatever they please in their private lives,” he wrote. “He is however, personally uncomfortable around homosexuals, no different from a lot of older folks of his era.”

Gay rights activist and author Dan Savage recently defended Paul. “And Ron may not like gay people, and may not want to hang out with us or use our toilets, but he’s content to leave us the f*** alone and recognizes that gay citizens are entitled to the same rights as all other citizens,” he said in Slate. “[Rick] Santorum, on the other hand, believes that his bigotry must be given the force of law. That’s an important difference.”

Metroweekly
‘Eric Dondero is a disgruntled former staffer who was fired for performance issues…. He has zero credibility and should not be taken seriously.”

Quote received by CBS News from Ron Paul’s spokesman Jesse Benton. He was responding to claims made by Eric Dondero, a former aide to the Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate.

Dondero wrote a statement for RightWingNews.com alleging that Paul is “out of touch, with both Hispanic and Black culture”, “most certainly Anti-Israel” and “personally uncomfortable around homosexuals.”

In the piece, Dondero said that Ron Paul (who is also a doctor) met with a gay Libertarian supporter in San Francisco in the late 1980s. He claimed Paul would not use the man’s bathroom:

”Ron pulled me aside the first time we went there, and specifically instructed me to find an excuse to excuse him to a local fast food restaurant so that he could use the bathroom. He told me very clearly, that although he liked Jim, he did not wish to use his bathroom facilities.”

He also relayed a second-hand story about another “flamboyant” gay supporter who was refused a handshake by Paul:

”Ron likes Bobby personally…. But after his speech… Bobby came up to Ron with his hand extended, and according to my fellow staffer, Ron literally swatted his hand away.”

Paul is a Republican from Texas. He is believed by many to be a libertarian on many issues because he argues that most Federal services and regulations are unconstitutional. His thoughts about removing government from people’s personal lives is not necessarily supported by his record, though. According to OnTheIssues.org, Paul voted against allowing gay adoptions in Washington, D.C.; supported “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell;” and said that the “Defense of Marriage Act” was “proper.” Paul has not, however, supported a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage, primarily because he thinks marriage is a religious function that should be separate from government. He has more recently stated that he thinks marriage should only be between a man and a woman. And, in 2010, Paul changed his stance on military service: He voted to repeal DADT, saying discharges of trained and skilled personnel was “an awful waste” and made “no financial sense.”

TalkingPointsMemo.com has been tracking a connection between Ron Paul’s Iowa Campaign and a preacher named Phillip G. Kayser. The site says Kayser wants to implement “Biblical punishments for homosexuals” including the death penalty. TPM reports today that a published acceptance of Kayser’s endorsement of candidate Paul has been removed from the RonPaul2012.com website. A cached copy from Google indicates that the statement read in part:

“We welcome Rev. Kayser’s endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul’s approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs. We’re thankful for the thoughtfulness with which he makes his endorsement and hope his endorsement and others like it make a strong top-three showing in the caucus more likely.”