Sen. Marco Rubio: I'll Vote Against The Immigration Bill If Gays Are Included

Sen. Marco Rubio today vowed that he will vote against the immigration reform bill that he co-authored if the amendment allowing gay US citizens to sponsor their foreign partners is not removed.

"If this bill has something in it that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm done," Rubio said Thursday during an interview on the Andrea Tantaros Show. "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."   The amendment, introduced by Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, would grant green cards to foreign partners of gay unauthorized immigrants who seek legal status under new rules in the bill. Leahy originally introduced the measure during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the bill, but he withdrew it under pressure from Republican lawmakers who said it would reduce the chance of the bill passing.

Leahy re-introduced his amendment on Tuesday and even some Democrats questioned why he would risk the bill's passage when he'd already withdrawn an earlier amendment on the same issue. However Leahy's move this week was heralded by several LGBT rights groups.