Mayor Steve Benjamin of Columbia, South
Carolina is the 500th mayor to pledge support for the
legalization of gay marriage.
Benjamin is the latest mayor to join
the group Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, which launched two years
ago with 80 mayors.
“As a man of faith, I believe in the
enduring power of love,” Benjamin said in a statement. “I
support the freedom to marry because all families deserve to be
treated equally and fairly, because everyone's love deserves respect,
and because it is simply the right thing to do.”
Mayors for the Freedom To Marry
includes mayors from 45 states, the group said in announcing its
newest
member.
“Mayor Benjamin, like the hundreds of
other mayors, knows that marriage strengthens families and
communities,” said Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director Marc
Solomon. “As long as South Carolina and 30 other states deny
same-sex couples the freedom to marry, those couples and their
children are subject to hardships and indignity. The Supreme Court
should listen to the bipartisan chorus of mayors who stand on the
right side of history and bring an end to marriage discrimination in
America once and for all.”