Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del), who was re-elected to another six-year term in 2012, announced his support for marriage equality on Tuesday. Via a statement on his Facebook page:
As our society has changed and evolved, so too has the public’s opinion on gay marriage – and so has mine. I pray every day for God to grant me the wisdom to do what is right. Through my prayers and conversations with my family and countless friends and Delawareans, I’ve been reminded of the power of one of my core values: the Golden Rule. It calls on us to treat others as we want to be treated. That means, to me, that all Americans ultimately should be free to marry the people they love and intend to share their lives with, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that’s why today, after a great deal of soul searching, I’m endorsing marriage equality.
Public opinion in the state, which approved civil unions in 2011, reflects majority support for the issue of gay marriage. A poll conducted in February by Global Strategy Group found that 54 percent of respondents would favor legalizing same-sex marriage, while 37 percent said they would be opposed.
Just seven Senate Democratic holdouts remain that have yet to publicly endorse gay marriage. The list includes Mark Pryor (AK), Bill Nelson (FL), Tim Johnson (SD), Joe Manchin (WV), Mary Landrieu (LA), Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and Joe Donnelly (IN). Landrieu and Pryor face challenging re-election prospects in 2014.
