Laine, I understand your concern, and going by record alone, I agree that it's easy to be skeptical. Here's a little info I've found that might be interesting:
Yes, Barr not only supported the Defense of Marriage Act, he authored it. In a recent interview, however, I appreciated the fact that he not only owned up to the ridiculousness of the bill, he also explained the thought process that went in to creating the bill, as the bill is essentially two parts:
1) The assertion of the federalist notion that one state is not required to recognize the same-sex marriage granted in another state, and
2) The federal definition of marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
Barr states that he now believes it would be in the best interest of the congress to repeal part two, as marriage as an institution has no business being commented on by the federal government. It is a matter that should be left to the states, if at all.
As for the War on Drugs, it is important to realize that Libertarians were a major portion of the group that worked to oust Barr from his congressional seat, and after losing his seat, he took a hard look at some of his views and ultimately recanted. He actually subsequently worked as a pro-legalization lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project.
I think that is ultimately going to be one of the major things that limits Barr's campaign, is that he has switched views on a number of items since losing his seat in Congress, and people will not look at the views he has espoused since 2002: namely, that the War on Drugs is a failed effort that the Federal government needs to get out of, the Patriot Act and FISA are severely eroding our civil liberties with no cause, etc etc...
