Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor has said
that he is in the “undecided category” on the issue of whether
gay men and lesbians should be allowed to marry.
Pryor is among the final four
Democratic senators who remain opposed to marriage equality after a
flurry of senators shifted their public stance in recent weeks. The
other three holdouts are Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of
West Virginia and Tim Johnson of South Dakota.
“I would put me down in the undecided
category,” Pryor
told 5News on Friday. “I did talk with some friends of mine in
the gay and lesbian community over the last week or so. We talked
about this issue. We also talked about a question I received in the
office not too long ago where they asked whether being gay was a
choice or whether you were born that way. I told them, I said,
'Honestly I've never really thought a lot about that.' Maybe a lot
of people think about that. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking
about that. But one of the things I hear from them is they feel very
strongly that it's not a choice for them, and I respect that. I'm
not going to dispute that. I appreciate that, and I appreciate their
honesty. For a lot of these people they just really open their
heart to me and talked about some of the struggles they've had over
the years with their sexual orientation. I respect that and
appreciate their patience, and I appreciate their honesty.”
(Related: Sen.
Mary Landrieu personally backs gay marriage but obliged to represent
Louisiana.)
On Thursday, Florida Senator
Bill Nelson said that he could not discriminate against gays
because “The Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals.”
The following day, Indiana Senator
Joe Donnelly said that backing the institution was “the right
thing to do” and North Dakota Senator
Heidi Heitkamp said that the “importance of family is enduring”
in announcing her support.
Fifty-three senators support marriage
equality, including two GOP senators: Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark
Kirk of Illinois.