Florida Senator Marco Rubio said Sunday
that he does not believe being gay is a choice.
In a Face the Nation sit-down
interview with Bob Shieffer, Rubio, a candidate for the 2016 GOP
presidential nomination, was asked: “You have said you're against
gay marriage. Do you think that homosexuality is a choice?”
“It's not that I'm against gay
marriage,” Rubio answered, “I believe the definition of the
institution of marriage should be between one man and one woman.
States have always regulated marriage. And if a state wants to have
a different definition, you should petition the state legislature and
have a political debate. I don't think courts should be making that
decision. And I don't believe same-sex marriage is a constitutional
right.”
“I also don't believe that your
sexual preferences are a choice for a vast and enormous majority of
people. The bottom line is, I believe that sexual preference is
something that people are born with.” (The video is embedded on
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Rubio's response was quickly attacked
by Bryan Fischer, a social conservative opposed to gay rights.
“By believing gays [are] born that
way, Rubio grants anti-genetics credibility to gayness as the
equivalent of race,” he tweeted. “Not the guy.”
Last week, Rubio said that he would
attend the same-sex wedding of a loved one, despite his opposition to
marriage equality.