Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson Backs Marriage Equality

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Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) announced his support for marriage equality on Thursday, leaving just six Democratic holdouts yet to publicly endorse same-sex marriage.

Via the Tampa Bay Times:

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. 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, who was re-elected in 2012, joins a parade of politicians reversing their stance on gay marriage just days after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two high-profile cases on the issue, including Republican Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Mark Kirk (R-IL).

Only six Democratic holdouts remain in the Senate: Mark Pryor (AK), Tim Johnson (SD), Joe Manchin (W.VA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and Joe Donnelly (IN).

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