Marco Rubio: I oppose letting states ban same-sex marriage
Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio has said, despite opposing same-sex marriage, he is against any measure to allow states to re-ban it in the future.
The presidential candidate and Florida senator said on Wednesday he would oppose a constitutional amendment to allow states to ban same-sex marriage, despite opposing the US Supreme Court’s ruling that every American, straight or gay, has a constitutional right to marry.
“I don’t support a constitutional amendment. I don’t believe the federal government should be in the marriage regulation business,” he said.
“We can continue to disagree with it. Perhaps a future court will change that decision, in much the same way as it’s changed other decisions in the past. But my opinion is unchanged, that marriage should continue to be defined as one man and one woman. The decision is what it is, and that’s what we’ll live under,” he continued.
In stating this, Rubio has created a divide between himself and some of his rivals, including Scott Walker and Ted Cruz, who have pushed for an amendment to allow states to ban gay and lesbian couples from marrying.
Saying same-sex marriage campaigners should have gone to state legislatures, he said: “I disagree with the [Supreme Court] decision on constitutional grounds… Irrespective of how one may feel about the definition of marriage, we’re still all Americans.”
Rubio in May claimed that same-sex marriage presented a “clear and present danger” to free speech.
He previously appeared as a speaker at a “gay cure” event.
He also was a key architect in the removal of protections for same-sex couples in an immigration bill in 2013.
In the same year, he said that businesses should be allowed to fire people for being gay. He said: “By and large I think all Americans should be protected but I’m not for any special protections based on orientation.”
He also blocked the nomination of a gay black judge to the US federal bench.
