Paul touted the bill he has introduced to address the issue, the Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act of 2014, which he suggested took a more cautious approach than similar legislation sponsored by Democrats. Paul’s bill applies only to federal voting rights, not the ability to vote in state elections, and is limited to a class of nonviolent felons. So far, Paul’s only co-sponsor on the legislation is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. By contrast, a Democratic bill sponsored by Cardin is more expansive and applies to all felons. “Both are a step in the right direction,” Paul said Tuesday. “it just depends on how big a step you want to take.”

By pushing to change the law so that crimes now considered felonies would become misdemeanors and finding ways to allow convicted felons, specifically those who committed nonviolent crimes, to vote and apply for jobs, Paul is diverging from traditional Republican rhetoric on the issue. Since the 1960s, the GOP has run as the party of “law and order,” often using racially coded language to promote its anticrime bonafides. On Tuesday, however, Paul condemned the disproportionate impact the problems of the criminal justice system have had on minorities. The Kentucky Republican made clear he did not believe that disparity was on purpose but because arresting those who are poorer, live in cities, and have less access to lawyers was easier.