Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says he does not believe sexual orientation is a choice for the "enormous majority of people."
The Florida senator's comments came Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, where he said that it should be up to states rather than the Supreme Court to define marriage and that he considers marriage to be between a man and a woman.
"I also don't believe that your sexual preferences are a choice for the vast and enormous majority of people. In fact, the bottom line is, I believe that sexual preference is something people are born with," Rubio said.
He and other Republican presidential hopefuls have faced questions in recent days about their positions on same-sex marriage as the nation's top court prepares for what is expected to be a broad ruling on the constitutionality of the issue in June.
Americans support the right of same-sex couples to wed, 55 percent to 42 percent, according to a Gallup poll in May 2014, reflecting sweeping movement in public opinion over nearly two decades. Republican support has also grown, but stands at just 30 percent, according to the poll.
In an interview with Fusion published Wednesday, Rubio said he would attend a same-sex wedding.
“If it’s somebody in my life that I care for, of course I would,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt them simply because I disagree with a choice they’ve made or because I disagree with a decision they’ve made, or whatever it may be."
Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he has never had to make such a decision, dodging the question. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who has not announced a campaign yet, said he would not attend such a wedding.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, another possible candidate, said he and his wife had been invited to a same-sex wedding and plan to attend, CNN reported Saturday.
"I went home and I said to my wife, 'My friend's getting married. What do you think? You wanna go?' She goes, 'Oh, I'm absolutely going.' I called him today and said, 'Hey, just let me know what time it is,'" Kasich said, according to the report. "My friend knows how I feel about the issue, but I'm not here to have a war with him. I care about my friend, and so it's pretty simple for me."