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Marco Rubio may become the nation’s most anti-LGBTQ+ secretary of state ever

President-elect Donald Trump has named Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as his choice for secretary of state, even though the two once traded barbs as political rivalsduring the 2016 Republican presidential primary. 

While Rubio has primarily served as a legislator for his home state of Florida, he has unwaveringly maintained anti-LGBTQ+ policy stances throughout his political career.

Marco Rubio at a glance

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  • Location: Miami, Florida
  • Party Affiliation: Republican
  • Race/Ethnicity: Cuban-American
  • Gender Identity: Male
  • Orientation: Heterosexual
  • Pronouns: Him/him/his
  • LGBTQ+ Ally: No

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Marco Rubio’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues

Same-sex marriage

Rubio has long opposed same-sex marriage, saying back in 2015 that the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing marriage equality was an example of the “government compelling” people “to sin.” He has said it is the duty of Christians to oppose the ruling.

He has also said he doesn’t believe that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the right to regulate marriage, the laws of which have traditionally been determined by states.

“There is no way that you can read that Constitution and deduce from it that there is a constitutional right to an abortion, or a constitutional right to marry someone of the same sex,” Rubio said.

In July 2022, Rubio said marriage equality is not “a real issue” (despite U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas saying that marriage equality should be overturned). He voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, a law requiring states and the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages. He reportedly called the law “a stupid waste of time.”

Trans children in sports

Rubio supports the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, a law that would require schools’, colleges’, and universities’ athletics programs to determine a participant’s sex “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

In January 2024, Rubio sent a letter to USA Boxing for allowing “biological men to fight biological women,” a reference to the organization’s policy of allowing trans women to compete with cisgender women. He dishonestly stated that sports organizations’ trans inclusive policies compel athletes who identify as trans “to undergo dangerous and irreversible surgery that sterilizes them for life.”

During his 2022 re-election campaign, he ran transphobic ads accusing his opponent Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) of voting “to allow transgender youth sports.” His claim was based on Demings’ support of the Equality Act, legislation that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to pre-existing federal civil rights laws. The act would enshrine the rights of trans people to participate in school sports.

Transgender access to public bathrooms

When asked by the Catholic News Service whether “biological males should be permitted to use the women’s room in federal facilities and parks around the country,” Rubio responded, “No, I think men’s bathrooms are for men and women’s bathrooms are for women.”

He has also criticized the administration of President Joe Biden for requiring federal contractors to allow trans employees to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

Don’t say gay/LGBTQ+ discussions in schools

Rubio has defended Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law which prohibits the teaching of LGBTQ+ issues in public schools. 

“We don’t send kids to school so the schools can raise our kids,” Rubio said. “We send them so they can teach them; raising kids are the job of parents and families, not schools. And so that’s what that bill does.”

Gender-affirming care for trans youth

Rubio opposes gender-affirming care for all transgender individuals regardless of age. Towards this end, he supported the Protecting Conscience in Healthcare Act to prohibit federal or state government agencies and “covered entities,” such as hospitals and health clinics, from requiring employees to recognize the existence of trans people or assist in the provision of gender-affirming care.

“It is deeply disturbing to see the progressive left infiltrate the American healthcare system and compromise the quality of patient care in the process,” Rubio wrote in September 2023.

Additionally, he has called gender-affirming care “harmful to children’ and claimed that it “undermines the legitimate role parents must play in the health of their children.” 

“It is irresponsible and malicious to recommend these procedures to young people,” Rubio wrote in March 2023.

Discrimination protections

Rubio opposes the Equality Act, legislation that would enshrine LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections into federal law. 

He also opposed President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13672, which prohibited anti-LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination among companies doing business with the federal government. Rubio said the order required organizations to “violate the tenets of their faith,” by requiring them to treat queer employees fairly and with respect.

“There are many government contractors and small companies who provide services to the government who are faith-based people, and they are, they are being compelled to sin by government in their business conduct,” Rubio said. “That is not something we should be supporting.”

Same-sex adoption

Rubio supported Florida’s now-defunct ban on same-sex couples adopting.

“Some of these kids are the most disadvantaged in the state,” Rubio said a 2006 article in the Tallahassee Democrat. “They shouldn’t be forced to be part of a social experiment.” The state’s ban was overturned in 2010.

Other LGBTQ+ issues

In February 2023, Rubio and Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced a bill to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. military.

He also got a U.S. Air Force base to cancel a Drag Queen Story Hour event that was scheduled for the base’s library in honor of Pride Month.

Rubio has spoken at least twice to groups that support so-called “conversion therapy,” attempts to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Rubio’s career

  • In 1993, graduated with Bachelors of Arts degree in political science from the University of Florida
  • In 1996, graduated with a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law
  • During law school, Interned for U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
  • Worked on Republican senator Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign
  • In 1999, won election to Florida’s House of Representatives. Served until 2008.
  • Became first Cuban-American to be speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008
  • Elected to U.S. Senate in 2010. Re-elected in 2016 and 2022.
  • Nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of State.

Rubio’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies may soon affect the world

If Rubio gets confirmed by the Senate as Trump’s Secretary of State, he will wield tremendous power by essentially signaling to other countries that the U.S. will tolerate anti-LGBTQ+ civil rights violations. This will endanger queer people and their allies and empower far-right and authoritarian political forces that may also work in the long-term against U.S. interests.

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