New Marco Rubio: Christians Must Love LGBT People While Still Discriminating Against Them (Video)

Same as Old Marco Rubio, but Now in Race of His Life

Marco Rubio Friday addressed attendees of an evangelical Christian conference hosted by an anti-LGBT extremist whose funding comes from an anti-gay hate group. The failed Republican presidential candidate who had promised he would not seek re-election even if he lost his White House bid is now seeking re-election and is in a tight race, just a few points away from his Democratic rival, Rep. Patrick E. Murphy. Donald Trump addressed the group Thursday.

Rubio on Friday spoke to hundreds attending the “Rediscovering God in America” conference, hosted by anti-gay activist and religious extremist David Lane, whose American Renewal Project is funded by the American Family Association.

“I support the traditional definition of marriage because I believe the union of one man and one woman is a special relationship with an extraordinary record of success of raising children into strong and successful people,” Rubio told evangelicals, reinforcing his often-stated positions against same-sex marriage.

He also repeated portions of his stump speech in which he denounces those who call people who oppose same-sex marriage “bigots” and remarks against marriage equality as “hate speech,” but Rubio surprised the audience by appearing to denounce those who have denounced LGBT people for being LGBT.

“To love our neighbors we must recognize that many have experienced sometimes severe condemnation and judgment from some Christians,” Rubio told the audience. The Florida Republican in June used the anti-gay hate crime mass shooting terror attack at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub as a reason to seek re-election. Today’s conference is the two-month anniversary of that tragedy in which 49 people were targeted and massacred for being LGBT.

“They have heard some say that the reason God will bring condemnation on America is because of them — as if somehow God was willing to put up with adultery and gluttony and greed and pride, but now this is the last straw,” Rubio said, not once admitting his own attacks on the LGBT community nor asking forgiveness.

The Republican Senator who has repeatedly said same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry or raise children – or even be foster parents to the most needy of all children, told evangelicals that American history “has been marred by discrimination against and rejection of gays and lesbians,” whom he called “our brothers and our sisters, our fellow Americans, our neighbors in the LGBT community.” 

But Rubio also told his audience that “we should recognize that even as we stand firm in the belief that marriage is the union between one man and one woman, there are those in that community in same-sex relationships whose love for one another is real and feel angry and humiliated that the law did not recognize their relationship as a marriage.”

“To love our neighbors we must recognize that many have experienced — sometimes — severe condemnation and judgment from some Christians.”

Among those Christians are Rubio’s fellow speakers, hosts, and organizers of the event, including David Lane, who has called homosexuality “debauchery,” suggested that Christians should be prepared to martyr themselves in order to prevent marriage equality, and has said that homosexuality is a moral crisis that “threatened our utter destruction,” as NCRM reported last month.

Lane also wrote a 2013 op-ed calling for a “war to restore a Christian America.” 

HRC President Chad Griffin posted this to Twitter in response to Rubio’s remarks:

Equality Florida CEO Nadine Smith, who has been at the center of organizing support for the families and friends of victims of the Pulse terror attack, issued a statement saying Senator Rubio’s “hypocrisy is appalling,” and denouncing Rubio’s attendance and speech at today’s conference, and attacked him for his positions on LGBT civil rights and opposition to common sense gun control reforms.

“Two months ago 49 people were murdered by yet another angry young man embracing a hateful ideology who targeted an LGBT nightclub,” Smith said in a statement sent to NCRM. “Our gun laws are so appalling, this madman was able to purchase weapons capable of mass slaughter. Rubio wants to invoke the names of the victims to deflect criticism of him sharing the stage with notorious bigots. He used this platform to gin up anti-Muslim hatred while opposing the most basic LGBT protections and gun safety measures that have been shown to dramatically reduce gun deaths.”

“If Rubio truly wanted to make discrimination against LGBT people a thing of the past, he would support the passage of state and federal legislation that prohibits discrimination against LGBT people,” which the Florida Republican first elected to the Senate in the Tea Party wave of 2010 does not.

“If Rubio truly represented Florida’s constituents, he would have voted for legislation requiring universal background checks on all gun purchases, instead of voting it down just a few weeks after the Pulse massacre,” Smith charged, which is true. “If Rubio truly wanted the American church to ‘abandon the spirit of judgement,’ he would not share a stage with those who use hate speech as a weapon and call on people to martyr themselves to oppose equal protection for LGBT people.”

Smith charged Sen. Rubio with supporting “laws that treat LGBT people as his inferiors and deny us the same protections he demands for himself and his family. His statement at today’s extremist conference was tone-deaf and spineless, and we do not need his hollow thoughts and prayers. His cruel actions, not his pandering words, define his character.”

Watch Rubio’s speech below:

Democratic Rep. Murphy, who is challenging Rubio for his Senate seat, posted this to Twitter Friday afternoon:

 

Image by Florida Democrats via Twitter