Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told a crowd of conservatives on Tuesday that he is not homophobic, just "on the right side of the Bible," CNN reported.
Huckabee, a former GOP candidate in the 2008 presidential election, made the comments at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition.
"I'm not against anybody. I'm really not. I'm not a hater. I'm not homophobic," he added. ""I honestly don't care what people do personally in their individual lives."
He went on to explain that his conservative Christian values will not change for anyone.
"But...when people say, 'Why don't you just kind of get on the right side of history?' I said, 'You've got to understand, this for me is not about the right side or the wrong side of history, this is the right side of the Bible, and unless God rewrites it, edits it, sends it down with his signature on it, it's not my book to change.' Folks, that's why I stand where I stand," he told the audience.
Huckabee, who is a possible Republican contender in 2016, is clearly referring to gay rights when he says "right side of history," a phrase many lawmakers and marriage equality groups use to promote same-sex marriage.
He also made a reference to the Supreme Court's rejection of an appeal by a New Mexico photographer who was not allowed to deny a lesbian couple her services according to state law.
"Why is it that Christians stand back and take it in the teeth time and time and time again? But we cannot change this country if we do not rise up and vote with an informed mind and a committed spirit and if we're not willing to stand along," Huckabee said.
During his speech, he also criticized the IRS and other government agencies.
"Look, I'm not trying to be some whacko way out there, I'm talking about the basic, most fundamental rights we have as an American citizen and while those rights are being stripped from us by the IRS, the NSA, and the TSA," he said.
