In an interview with Christian Broadcast Network's David Brody this week, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul evaded the question of whether he would ever support same-sex marriage, indicating that he recognizes the political climate has changed on the heated issue.

"I think we've got a long history with marriage — I'm not willing to give up on it yet," Paul said. "The family unit has been something that's been [around] for thousands of years… and I think it's an important structure."

"Not everyone is going to agree with that...young people seem to be changing their opinions. But I think we should still be in favor of what we're in favor of, and that's that there is a traditional family unit and that it's important."

What's interesting here is that Paul never says that marriage should be between a man and woman. Instead, he defends marriage as an institution, without explicitly excluding same-sex couples.

Paul went on to reiterate that he doesn't believe that the gay marriage issue should be decided at the federal level, arguing that Republicans would ultimately lose that battle.

"I think right now if we say…we're only going to [have] one man, one woman marriage, we're going to lose that battle because the country is going the other way right now," Paul said. "If we're to say each state can decide, I think a good 25 or 30 states still do believe in traditional marriage, and maybe we allow that debate to go on for another couple of decades."

I might be reading too much into these remarks, but it seems like a sign that even conservative Republicans are taking pains not to end up on the wrong side of history of the gay marriage issue.

Paul has not been shy about his national ambitions, and appears to be trying to keep himself out of a corner on the issue — or, at the very least, avoid a sound byte that could be used against him in a national election.

Beyond the gay marriage comments, the CBN interview is yet another indication that Paul is seriously considering a presidential bid in 2016.

The 30-minute segment, titled "At Home With Rand Paul," features an extensive interview with Paul and his wife Kelly at their home in Kentucky, and is aimed at introducing the Kentucky Senator to the show's evangelical conservative viewers, a key Republican constituency.

Watch the full interview below, courtesy of CBN: