Marco Rubio has been courting the gay-rights Log Cabin Republicans

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appears to be slowly evolving on the issue of same-sex marriage. While he still opposes gay marriage, he said last week that he would attend the same-sex wedding of a loved one and professed on Sunday that for most people "sexual preference is something that people are born with," not a choice. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Rubio has been quietly wooing the Log Cabin Republicans.

Rubio's staff, though not the senator, has been holding quarterly meetings with the gay Republican group "going back some time," Log Cabin Republicans executive director Gregory Angelo tells Reuters. The meetings focused on things the senator and gay-rights group could "partner on," Angelo said, adding that Rubio is "not as adamantly opposed to all things LGBT as some of his statements suggest." Rubio's office declined to discuss any meetings.

Same-sex marriage and other gay-rights issues have rapidly gained acceptance among U.S. voters, especially younger ones, but 68 percent of likely Republican primary voters oppose gay marriage, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling data. Since 2013, Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Scott Walker have also met with the Log Cabin Republicans.

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