U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday sharply criticized a federal court ruling that paved the way for same-sex marriage in his home state of Florida, saying “I don’t agree the courts have the power to do this.”
In an interview with Politico, the potential 2016 presidential candidate said the federal court has undermined the will of Florida voters who approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage six years ago.
He argued that supporters of same-sex marriage should have taken the issue to the ballot box or through the legislature instead.
Get the Daily Brief
The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you:
“If they wanted to change that law, they should have gone to the legislature or back to the Constitution and try to change it,” Rubio said. “I don’t agree we should be trying to make those changes through the courts.”
Think Progress notes that Rubio’s ideas about what the courts should and should not do seem to align with his personal views about whether certain laws are constitutional or not. In his public opposition to the Affordable Healthcare Act (“Obamacare”), Rubio has regularly called on the courts to strike down a law, despite the fact that Congress has failed to repeal it countless times.
Rubio’s remarks come just one day after a federal judge’s ruling striking down Florida’s same-sex marriage came into effect.
Earlier in the week, fellow Floridian Jeb Bush, also a likely 2016 presidential candidate, called for respect for those on both sides of the issue, saying “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law.”
