LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says he supports allowing same-sex couples to wed, but will continue defending the state constitution’s ban on gay marriage.
McDaniel announced Saturday that he supports marriage equality. That makes him the first statewide official in Arkansas to back gay marriage.
But McDaniel said he’ll continue defending a 2004 state constitution amendment defending marriage as between a man and a woman. A group of same sex couples are challenging the ban in court.
McDaniel is a Democrat who was first elected in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010.
McDaniel made the announcement in a speech at the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors Convention.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
