Rand Paul is known for many things, chiefly among them is his belief that ending segregated lunch counters was a federal overreach and that private businesses should be allowed to discriminate.
He could hardly be described as the ‘biggest defender of minority rights in Congress,’ but that’s how he sees himself.
“I don’t think there has been anybody who has been a bigger defender of minority rights in the Congress than myself, and that’s not saying others aren’t trying as well,” Paul said an in interview with Salon. “But I think you can see a history and a litany of bills that I’ve put forward to not only restore voting rights, but to try to prevent people from the tragedy of losing their employability through felony convictions and other things.”
As others have pointed out, John Lewis is still a member of Congress.