Marco Rubio to appeal to conservative base with speech for anti-gay group

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Marco Rubio to appeal to conservative base with speech for anti-gay group

Dominic Rushe in New York
theguardian.com, Thursday 14 November 2013 16.11 GMT

Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican seen as a viable presidential candidate in 2016, is to be the headline speaker at a conference organised by prominent anti-gay activists this weekend, in a move that will burnish his conservative credentials at a time of fierce debate about the party’s future direction.

Rubio will speak on Saturday at the Florida Family Policy Council’s (FFPC) annual awards dinner, “making headlines and news with a major policy speech you will not want to miss,” according to the council’s description of the event.

The FFPC is led by John Stemberger, an anti-gay activist who has campaigned vociferously against LGBT children being allowed to join the Boy Scouts of America. He said gay members were a threat to the “safety and security of our children”.

The fundraiser will also honor another prominent anti-gay activist, lawyer Mat Staver. Staver is head of the Liberty Counsel, an evangelical legal group. Staver recently sued New Jersey governor Chris Christie, another presidential contender and a man who has urged the Republican party to take less dogmatic approach to gay rights, in an attempt to overturn the state’s ban on gay conversion therapy.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/14/marco-rubio-conservative-anti-gay

[gopiscrap]

1. That's gonna hurt him

I think the trajectory of US thinking is on the side of equality for LGBT folks. And yes, I know there are tons of homophobes out there..but it's just like the civil rights movement, 60 years ago in the south there was no problem for you to be calling some one the "N" word and openly being discriminatory. Now you can't do that . The same is happening with the LGBT movement slowly but surely, they are gaining ground and Rubio is gonna be on the wrong side of the equation.

[immoderate]

2. Good I welcome his pain.

Rubio is a particular light weight. I would be happy to see him pushed aside.

--imm

[joeybee12]

3. Rubio was the media's flavor of the month for a time...

Now he's fading, and this will push him even farther into the background, which is fine by me.

[Initech]

4. Gross!!! I'm so sick of these stupid bigoted pro family groups I could puke.

Fact #1: Any group that calls itself pro family should realize that their policies actually hurt more families than they help.

Fact #2: They're in the minority now. Hate doesn't sell the way it used to and we're seeing a major dramatic turn in the OTHER direction for gay marriage. DOMA got overturned in the Supreme Court and the 15th state just adopted gay marriage laws, and we may see Hawaii as the sixteenth before January. These uber bigoted groups are a thing of the past now, they should be going away permanently. No politician should be seen talking to these assholes if they want to keep their job.