Florida Senator Bill Nelson on Thursday
became the latest Democratic senator to endorse gay marriage.
“It is generally accepted in American
law and U.S. society today ' … that all Men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,'”
Nelson said in a statement given to the Tampa
Bay Times. “I believe that. The civil rights and
responsibilities for one must pertain to all.”
“Thus, to discriminate against one
class and not another is wrong for me. If we are endowed by our
Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by Gays
and Lesbians?”
“Simply put, if The Lord made
homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate
against their civil marriage? I shouldn't, and I won't.”
“So I will add my name to the
petition of senators asking the Supreme Court to declare the law that
prohibits gay marriage unconstitutional.”
Nelson reiterated his opposition to
marriage equality as late as last week.
“I've always stood up for the civil
rights of all people, including civil unions,” Nelson told
reporters in Tallahassee. “My personal preference is that marriage
is between a man and a woman.”
Nelson joins a growing list of U.S.
senators who have recently reversed course on the issue, including
two Republicans, Ohio Senator Rob
Portman and Illinois Senator Mark
Kirk, and Democratic Senators Claire
McCaskill of Missouri, Mark
Warner of Virginia, Mark
Begich of Alaska, Jon
Tester of Montana, Jay
Rockefeller of West Virginia, Kay
Hagan of North Carolina, Tom
Carper of Delaware and Bob
Casey of Pennsylvania.
Only six Democratic senators remain
opposed to marriage equality. They are: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Joe
Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Tim Johnson of South
Dakota.