Marco Rubio is not loud and boisterous with his anti-gay rants (like Ted Cruz is). But, what he lacks in spewing loud vitriolic attacks on gay folks, he makes up with the content and substance of what he does say. And, he has said plenty with regard to his anti-gay views.
From The Advocate:
Whether the issue is marriage equality, immigration, adoption, or ex-gay "therapy," Marco Rubio has made his position on LGBT people clear: He doesn't like them.
When it comes to marriage, Rubio said in 2011 that the Defense of Marriage Act "protects one of our most sacred institutions."
A year later, he even went so far as to correct a report that he was "open" to marriage equality as "not accurate." Later that same year, he lent his voice to the antigay National Organization for Marriage's robocalls against marriage equality and said that the Supreme Court should defer to voters when it comes to marriage.
In a recent blog post, NOM referred to Rubio as a "real marriage champion."
Rubio's hostility to protections for LGBT families doesn't end there. In 2013, Rubio opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, saying "I'm not for any special protections based on orientation."
He even threatened to vote against his own immigration bill if it extended any rights to binational same-sex couples. "It kills the bill," he said of a possible amendment seeking to protect LGBT immigrants. "I'm gone. I'm off it."
Rubio also helped raise funds for the Florida Family Policy Council, a right-wing organization that promotes abusive "ex-gay therapy," which has been condemned by every major medical and mental health organization in the country
Counterintuitively, mainstream media reports that Rubio is seeking to be a uniter of various Republican ideological factions. But his policy positions are at odds with a growing consensus within the Republican Party that LGBT Americans should be entitled to equal treatment.
The New Civil Rights Movement has a post up entitled
"Marco Rubio's Top Ten Anti-Gay Statements," which is quite illuminating as well.
With regard to the anti-gay statements he made which involved the immigration bill he was pushing (at the time), Salon calls those remarks "Marco Rubio's Ugliest Moment."
Truth Wins Out has reported on Rubio's religious experiences and how that has guided his policy decisions. From that article:
Junior U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has just thrown his hat into the ring and announced his bid for the presidency. Since Rubio made a point of discussing, at length, his religious beliefs in his 2012 memoir “An American Son: A Memoir”, it seems fair to have a look. Following his announcement, LGBT rights media have showcased Rubio’s lengthy record of anti-gay statements and rhetoric (see 1, 2) but there’s a broader pattern.
Among Rubio’s two main religious influences, Catholic Church doctrine is a matter of public record. But an investigation of Rubio’s Miami Baptist megachurch reveals, notably, an anti-homosexual hiring policy, the promotion of demonology and exorcism, Young Earth creationism, and denial of evolution.
As an adult, from 2000 to 2004 Rubio took a detour from his Catholic roots to exclusively attend Miami’s Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist megachurch to which Rubio has given at least $50,000.
Now straddling both Christ Fellowship and the Catholic Church, Marco Rubio seems positioned to appeal both to conservative Catholics but also the anti-LGBT, demon-casting, creationist segment of the Protestant evangelical right.
UPDATE 1:
From The Washington Post:
If we remember that family – not government – is the most important institution in society, that all life deserves protection, and that all parents deserve to choose the education that’s right for their children, then we will have a strong people and a strong nation.
The words “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender” (LGBT) don’t appear in that paragraph. They weren’t ever uttered by Rubio during his 20-minute speech. The Florida Republican didn’t present a definition of “family,” either. Yet, there is no mystery what the former Florida House speaker and current freshman senator thinks. And it’s awful.
“But yesterday is over, and we are never going back,” Rubio said in announcing his bid for the presidency. “We Americans are proud of our history, but our country has always been about the future.” That’s interesting coming from a man whose exclusionary view of family is mired in 1950s idealism. With 59 percent of the nation supporting marriage equality, Rubio is seeking to lead a nation that left his view of family behind years ago.
“Before us now is the opportunity to author the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America,” Rubio said. Very true. But for LGBT Americans and the people who care about them, Rubio must not be that writer.
UPDATE 2:
From CNN: