Florida Senator Marco Rubio recently delivered a speech calling on for Christian conservatives to tone down their rhetoric against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. He warned them of the costs of the perpetuation of anti-LGBT rhetoric.

(Reuters/Carlo Allegri) U.S. Senator Marco Rubio speaks in Largo, Florida, March 12, 2016.

He made his remarks in a conference of Christians located a couple of blocks from the site of the tragic Orlando gay nightclub shooting two months ago. The public comments he made were considered to be his most extensive yet tackling on the LGBT issues, among them the prejudice against the community.

However, he steered away from the discussion of same-sex marriage as he has repeatedly declared his opposition during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year. He still made it clear that he believes that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.

"I want to be clear with you: Abandoning judgment and loving our LGBT neighbors is not a betrayal of what the Bible teaches. It is a fulfillment of it," Sen. Rubio said during a speech, citing the Bible verse Matthew 7:1, which says "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

Rubio further reminded the participants of the conference of the persecution of the LGBT community throughout American history and called for them to be more sympathetic to the current problems faced by LGBTs.

"When it comes to our brothers and our sisters, our fellow Americans, our neighbors in the L.G.B.T. community, we should recognize," he said.

"[American history] has been marred by discrimination against and rejection of gays and lesbians."

Interestingly, the Florida senator has had an extensive record of anti-LGBT legislative actions. He opposed LGBT laws such as giving gay parents the ability to adopt children and he even voted against anti-discrimination protections in places of work.