LAS VEGAS (AP) – Marco Rubio says he’s “anti-prostitution.”

But the Republican presidential contender says he wouldn’t make prostitution a federal crime to stop the practice in Nevada, should he win the presidency.

Rubio made the comments on Monday ahead of a campaign appearance in Elko, Nevada, where prostitution is legal.

He said, “I wish Nevada would make it illegal. But that’s their decision to make. I don’t agree with it.” He added that prostitution “victimizes the people who are participating in it” – the prostitutes themselves.

Rubio says he wants to shrink the federal government, so he wouldn’t want to make prostitution a federal offense.

He said, “I think you can be against something and still say, ‘but I don’t want the federal government involved in federalizing something.'”