Posted on 06/14/2013 10:46:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who helped draft the immigration reform bill currently being discussed in the Senate, says he will walk away from the negotiations if it includes a controversial amendment to provide immigration benefits for gay couples.
"If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm done," said Rubio during an interview on the Andrea Tantaros Show on Thursday. "I'm off it, and I've said that repeatedly. I don't think that's going to happen and it shouldn't happen. This is already a difficult enough issue as it is."
On Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) decided to file the amendment that would allow gay couples to sponsor green cards for their foreign partners as part of the immigration reform bill.
He was forced to withdraw the measure last month when several Democrats told him they would oppose it if it threatened the overall passage of the bill.
In filing the measure that has little chance of passing on the Senate floor, however, Leahy declared that the fight for equality was the right thing to do.
"Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do," he said in a statement. "I withheld my anti-discrimination amendment during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup. As the entire Senate turns to debate the immigration bill, the fight for equality must go on."
While he supports same-sex marriages, left-leaning evangelical leader Jim Wallis, agreed last month that entangling gay rights issues in the immigration reform discussion is a bad idea.
"I support equal protection under the law but I think this is the wrong place in the wrong time to try and resolve this contentious issue. This must be a bipartisan bill. Our focus must be on the 11 million undocumented and vulnerable people who this is their time, their chance, this is their moment," said Wallis, president and CEO of Sojourners.
The amendment is expected to face a much more difficult road in passing on the Senate floor than it would have faced in the committee.
Passing the measure in the committee only required a simple majority. On the Senate floor, however, it is likely to require 60 votes.
During the debate of the measure in the committee last month, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), a gang of eight member who helped craft the bill, noted: "You've got me on immigration. You don't have me on marriage. If you want to keep me on immigration, let's stay on immigration."
In his remarks, another gang of eight member, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), noted during the same debate: "As much as it pains me, I cannot support this amendment if it will bring down the bill."
A Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act expected later this month could enable gay couples to petition green cards for their foreign partners.
Yeah right, you are a sellout rube-io. You are either a total rube and being played like a hot fiddle by schumer or you are a fellow traveler like schumer. Either way you are unfit for the senate much less the presidency.
No you’re not...you’ll roll over and lube up like all the rest.
I hope you forgot the sarcasm tag, because if not that Kool Aid you’re drinking is about as strong as the Obama flavor.
Republicans should vote present or not vote on this amendment and force democrats to either defeat it and disappoint their gay supporters or to pass it and make the main bill less likely to pass. Why should republicans keep saving the democrats from their foolish tendencies.
If this puke says the sky is blue ya best check cause Rubio is a freaken LIAR.
I am offended that you think I would post sarcasm here.
But while on the same subject see: comment #7 here
Man! Rubio is such a low life, he won’t even defend his own traitorous stance and beliefs : )
LOL!!!!
The gloves are off : )
Overdone, IMO.
Patrick Leahy of Vermont doesn’t have to worry about hordes of Hispanic immigrants, homosexual or otherwise, flooding his state’s voter rolls, taking over dominance of Vermont’s Democratic party, and pushing him out of the Senate in favor of an Hispanic-American replacement.
However, that’s not true of Chuck Schumer of New York, or Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California, or of Democrat Senators in other states with already large Hispanic populations which would be augmented with millions more Hispanic-American voters if the Immigration Bill passes.
As bad as the bill might be, it would at least be likely to cause the end of Chuck Schumer’s career, as millions of New York City Puerto Ricans and other Hispanic residents bring their relatives from Latin America into the Big Apple to join them legally and become voters. Hispanic immigrants: ‘’Si se puede!’’ Chuck Schumer: ‘’Oy vay’’
If it got rid of Schumer, I’d sign on to Mexico annexing this state.
Rubio has come to realize his foolery and hopes to exit through the backdoor.
This is just more kabuki theater, per Mickey Kaus and Mark Krikorian's observations.
Wouldn’t doubt it.
What an evil stinking government we are saddled with!
It blows millions to educate homosexual activists in foreign countries.
It spends millions to build a 1 million square foot domestic spy center in Utah sporting the most powerful computer system in the world. Thanks to Cisco.
It mines information from telephone conversations and internet usage in order to blackmail the Chief Justice.
It goes on and on and on and the American peoples’ representatives do nothing.
Amnesty is fine, but this is where he draws the line?
Like saying eating dog shit is OK as long as it isn’t from a white toy poodle...
him and Paul were going to be good futures and both blew it on this and when is the GOP going to wake up and stop this nonsense
why even think about voting for this when obama can say he got it passed and he gets credit?
and was the reason obama was talking to cross dressers and homosexuals yesterday afternoon in the white house was because of this while he sends out some unknown to tell the world we will be involved in Syria?
Not nearly as much fun if I label them as sarcasm.
Every so often someone takes its serious and curses me for it making me laugh,
You would think they could figure it out by your verbiage.....but I suppose not : )
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