Washington (CNN) Florida Sen. Marco Rubio took a decidedly conservative turn on same-sex marriage in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week, warning that "there's a real and present danger" that gay marriage proponents will cast the teachings of mainstream Christianity as "hate speech."

"If you think about it, we are at the water's edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech. Because today we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage, you are labeled a homophobe and a hater," the Republican presidential candidate said.

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"After they are done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church, is hate speech and there's a real and present danger," Rubio warned.

Rubio has always been personally opposed to same-sex marriage and has argued the issue should be left up to the states.

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