Sen. Claire McCaskill announces support for same-sex marriage
Sen. Claire McCaskill quietly announced her support for same-sex marriage in a post published on her Tumblr page Sunday evening.
Invoking the Bible, the Missouri Democrat announced she believes the government should not limit the right to marry in a post titled after a passage from Corinthians 13: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
“My views on this subject have changed over time, but 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. Supporting marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples is simply the right thing to do for our country, a country founded on the principals of liberty and equality,” McCaskill writes, adding that just as churches should never be required to conduct marriage ceremonies against their faith, neither should the government tell people who they have the right to marry.
“Good people disagree with me,” McCaskill concludes. “On the other hand, my children have a hard time understanding why this is even controversial. I think history will agree with my children.”
McCaskill is the latest in a series of politicians, following Republican Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to announce their support for marriage equality before the Supreme Court hears arguments in the Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage Act cases later this week. She is also one of the last prominent Democrats to publicly endorse same-sex marriage in a party that has rapidly embraced marriage equality since President Barack Obama announced his evolution on the issue in May 2012.
During her reelection campaign, McCaskill said same-sex marriage should be left up to the states. McCaskill defeated former Rep. Todd Akin — who vehemently opposed marriage equality — to win reelection last November. She will not face Missouri voters in the traditionally red state again until 2018.
[Photo: Claire McCaskill (Courtesy of the U.S. Senate).]
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