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Marco Rubio Doubles Down On Anti-LGBT Rhetoric
Over the weekend, in his latest interview, Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio (R-FL) gave voters another look into his disturbing, anti-LGBT worldview. While speaking with host Chuck Todd on Meet the Press, Rubio reaffirmed his intent to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges claiming that marriage equality is a made-up right for LGBT people and threatening to appoint justices who would overturn the landmark court ruling.
Rubio made similarly offensive comments in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network last month where he also took aim at President Obama’s executive order prohibiting government contractors from discriminating against LGBT people. According to the Williams Institute, that executive order protects an estimated 14 million Americans workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Rubio’s reckless pledge to repeal President Obama’s order would put those millions of LGBT workers at risk.
In recent weeks, as candidates like Ted Cruz continue to appeal to ultra-conservative voters, Rubio’s anti-LGBT comments have become more extreme moving further and further out of step with the majority of American voters. He has even fallen out of step with his own constituents in Florida who support marriage equality by a 52-40 margin, according to the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute.
Rubio’s views are well outside the mainstream nationally. HRC polling has found that 55 percent majority of voters are less likely to support a candidate for President who opposes allowing same-sex couples to marry, and 60 percent of Americans would be less likely to support a candidate for President who would allow government officials, like Kim Davis, to refuse service to LGBT people based on their personal religious beliefs.
Though Rubio has become more vocal about his anti-LGBT policy positions on the campaign trail, he has a long track record of opposing equality. He voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and as Slate recently pointed out, opposes adoption by same-sex couples so much, that he’d rather see children suffer than find a loving home. He has also recorded robocalls for the anti-LGBT National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which named him a champion for “real marriage,” and helped raised money for the Florida Family Policy Council, whose leader said that being gay is an “artificial, social construct” that is “dangerous.”
To see where all the candidates stand on LGBT rights ahead of tonight’s debate, visit www.hrc.org/2016republicanfacts.
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