In an exclusive interview with Sen. Marco Rubio, Scott Keyes of Think Progress, spoke to the senator about discrimination in the workplace. And, boy howdy, did Rubio step in it. If this guy wants to be taken seriously as a presidential hopeful, he needs to get his ducks in a much more centrist row. Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

KEYES: The Senate this summer is going to be taking up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which makes it illegal to fire someone for being gay. Do you know if you’ll be supporting that? RUBIO: 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. KEYES: What about on race or gender? RUBIO: Well that’s established law. KEYES: But not for sexual orientation?

But he’s not a bigot, he says. Oh, please. The only reason to discriminate against another American, someone protected by the same Constitution as you, is because you don’t like something about them. Whether it’s their gender, their skin, their religion or their sexual orientation, hating on someone for no reason other than intolerance is the very definition of a bigot:

bigot- noun – a person who holds blindly and intolerantly to a particular creed, opinion, etc.

To expect an American to live as a second-class citizen because you don’t like something about them is not the sort of behavior that qualifies one to run for President of the United States. LGBT Americans are not asking for special protections, they just want the same protections that everyone else has. The protections that are given us by our Constitution.

Discrimination against LGBT workers stands at two-in-five against openly gay or bisexual employees and that number grows when transgender individuals are included. Despite most Americans believing otherwise, it is still legal in 21 states to discriminate against LGBT employees. Apparently, that number is fine by Rubio.

Something else that’s perfectly fine by Sen. Rubio is discriminating against LGBT immigrants. Talking about Sen. Patrick Leahy’s amendment that would allow gay Americans to petition for a same-sex spouse to obtain a green card, he told Fox’s Andrea Tantaros:

“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. I don’t think that’s going to happen and it shouldn’t happen. This is already a difficult enough issue as it is.”

Nice to know that Rubio’s bigotry extends to all aspects of life. His reputation as a “centrist” on LGBT issues is undeserved. A bigot is a bigot: Rubio is one and his actions speak louder than his words. We will be watching you, Rubio, and marking well your vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Here’s the (thankfully brief) video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl1k9nYs2kQ?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]