Sen. Claire McCaskill is the latest on Capitol Hill to announce support for same-sex marriage.
Mrs. McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, put on her Tumblr page on Sunday: “I have come to the conclusion that our government should not limit the right to marry based on who you love. While churches should never be required to conduct marriages outside of their religious beliefs, neither should the government tell people who they have a right to marry.”
In May 2012, in response to President Obama’s stated support for gay marriage, Mrs. McCaskill said that while she supported civil unions, same-sex marriage issues should be left to the states to decide.
Mrs. McCaskill said her evolving views were influenced in part by her gay friends.
“As many of my gay and lesbian friends, colleagues and staff embrace long term committed relationships, I find myself unable to look them in the eye without honestly confronting this uncomfortable inequality,” she said, as reported by Newser.
She’s not the first high-profile politician to announce a new-found embrace of gay-marriage rights. Conservative Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, said his son’s recent admission of being gay prompted him to change his political views to pro-gay marriage. And former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently admitted a pro-gay-marriage stance. Political insiders see Mrs. Clinton’s recent announcement — which countered earlier views she held on the issue — as a step toward a White House run in 2016.
SEE ALSO: Gay-marriage backers see public behind them as the Supreme Court weighs the arguments
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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