Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Saxby
Chambliss of Georgia have announced they won't seek re-election in
2014.
Harkin, a Democrat, announced his
retirement from Congress on Saturday.
“I have the privilege to be able to
make this decision on my own terms, which not everyone can, and I'm
deeply grateful to the people of Iowa that I do have that
opportunity. I've been extremely fortunate,” he said in a
statement.
In 2009, Harkin made an about-face on
gay marriage, saying he longer supports the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), the 1996 law which defines marriage as a heterosexual union
for federal agencies.
“The more I've looked at that I've
grown to think differently about how we should live,” he said in
explaining his position. “I guess I've got to the point of live
and let live.”
Chambliss, on the other hand, voted for
DOMA and remains a supporter of the law. However, in 2010 the
69-year-old Republican senator fired an aide accused of commenting
“All faggots must die” in a post about repeal of “Don't Ask,
Don't Tell.”