In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Marco Rubio, GOP presidential candidate and senator from Florida, spoke to the ways in which his Catholic faith has informed his stance on social issues, including marriage equality.

It’s been a reliable tactic for opponents of same-sex marriage to reframe discrimination against LGBT couples as a matter of Christians’ right to freely practice their religion, as if withholding wedding cakes were a core tenet of their faith. And Rubio was no different, casting conservative Christians as the persecuted party:

We are at the water’s edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech. Because today we’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater. So what’s the next step after that? After they are done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church is hate speech, and that’s a real and present danger.

The complete interview, courtesy of CBN, is below:

Rubio has previously expressed his belief that the legality of same-sex marriage should be left to the states to determine, and that he would not support a Supreme Court ruling that found state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

ViaBloomberg

Screenshot: CBN News/YouTube