WATCH: Rand Paul Says Same-Sex Marriage 'Offends' Him

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a potential Republican presidential candidate, is a self-described libertarian, a position that usually indicates positive feelings on LGBT rights -- but Paul showed in a Friday interview that that's not the case for him.

When Fox News Channel's Bret Baier asked Paul about his position on same-sex marriage, the senator responded, "I'm for traditional marriage. I think marriage is between a man and a woman. 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."

Having some form of contract rather than state-licensed marriage would give same-sex couples "equivalency before the law" and "would have solved a lot of these problems, and it may be where we're still headed," Paul continued.

The Washington Blade points out, "For Paul's vision of equal rights for same-sex couples through contracts to become a reality, the first step would be have to be a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in June upholding state prohibitions on gay nuptials."

Democratic National Committee spokesman Ian Sams told the Blade that Paul's statement shows he's not a libertarian but a true right-winger. "Saying marriage equality 'offends' him gives us yet another glimpse of Paul's true colors -- a restrictive, retro social agenda that sets back LGBT rights and questions longstanding gains in civil rights," Sams said.

Crooks & Liars blogger John Amato wrote of Paul, "When you hear him opine on issues coveted by the religious right, he falls squarely in their camp every time."

Paul, who last month won the Conservative Political Action Conference presidential straw poll for the third year in a row, is likely to announce his candidacy in April, the Blade reports.

Watch the Fox News clip below.