Rubio: Gay Rights Amendment Could Kill Immigration Bill

A push to include same-sex couples in the pending immigration bill could hurt its chances for passage, Sen. Marco Rubio says.

Politico reports that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has promised to offer an amendment to allow gay American citizens to sponsor their partners for green cards. The bill is expected to pass because it is being offered in committee and not on the Senate floor where it likely wouldn’t find the 60 votes needed for passage.

But Republicans warn that the amendment will likely end up killing the bill.

“It will virtually guarantee that it won’t pass,” Rubio, R-Fla., told Politico. “I respect everyone’s views on it. But ultimately, if that issue is injected into this bill, the bill will fail and the coalition that helped put it together will fall apart.”

The bill has broad support, including evangelical Christians, Catholic Bishops and labor unions.

Democrats believe Republicans won’t abandon the bill, pointing to similar threats when same-sex couples were included in the Violence Against Women Act that didn’t pan out.

“It’s not going to kill the bill,” Leahy told Politico.