Rand Paul to Urban League: In America, You Can Be Arrested for ‘Waiting While Black’

Rand Paul, Courting Black Support, Backs Changes in Voting Rights and Criminal Justice (The New York Times)

Senator Rand Paul on Friday declared his support for a wide range of criminal justice and voting rights reforms in his latest effort to help improve his and the Republican Party’s reputation with black voters.

Mr. Paul’s appearance at a conference of the Urban League capped a month in which the junior senator from Kentucky — a top contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016 — has been aggressively courting black and Democratic backing for his ideas.

“Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice, he’s just not paying close attention,” Mr. Paul said to applause.