Immigration Reform 2013 To Include LGBT Couples? Marc Rubio Says If It Does, He's Out [VIDEO]

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a co-author of the immigration reform bill and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, said on Thursday that he would not support any amendment to the bill which would allow same-sex spouses living abroad to apply for green cards.

"If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm done. I'm off it, and I've said that repeatedly," he said during an interview on the Andrea Tantaros Show, in reference to an amendment proposed by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont which would assure that foreign spouses in same-sex marriages could apply for green cards, as heterosexual couples currently can.

Rubio went one step further during a brief interview with a reporter from the website Think Progress. When asked if he would be supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a piece of legislation which the Senate will consider this summer and which would make it illegal for employers to fire employees on the basis of their sexual orientation, Rubio responded, "I haven't read the legislation. By and large I think all Americans should be protected but I'm not for any special protections based on orientation."

Watch video of the exchange below.

Rubio had previously trod carefully in coming out against employment protections for the LGBT community. In February he said he is "against discriminating against people," but dodged questions as to whether same-sex couples should receive protections under immigration law. He also indicated then that he was against a federal law banning gay marriage, though he pointed at his "strong belief" that a marriage was between a man and a woman.

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ABC News reported on Wednesday that Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, one of the "Gang of Eight" who wrote the bill, said he believes that Leahy's LGBT green-card amendment deserved a vote on the floor. It may, however, be unlikely to pass. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has established a 60-vote threshold for considering amendments on the Senate floor, and as it's seen as unlikely to get any more than the 54 senators who caucus with the Democrats to vote for it.

Senator Leahy had previously submitted the green-card amendment to the Senate Judiciary Committee but withdrawn it amid pressure from other Democrats. Republican lawmakers had indicated that it would be a "poison pill" for them and would cause them to walk away from negotiations over a bipartisan version of a bill. Leahy reintroduced the amendment on Tuesday evening, saying it would "remove discrimination from our immigration system". "As the entire Senate turns to debate the immigration bill, the fight for equality must go on," he said.