This is a short diary, but I didn't see this reported here today, and I thought it was fitting news considering what is about to happen at the Supreme Court.
In addition to Senators Claire McCaskill (MO) and Mark Warner (VA), we now have two more Democratic Senators to add to the list of marriage equality supporters: Mark Begich of Alaska and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Pretty big freaking deal.
Here is Begich's statement:
I believe that same sex couples should be able to marry and should have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other married couple. Government should keep out of individuals' personal lives—if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to. Alaskans are fed up with government intrusion into our private lives, our daily business, and in the way we manage our resources and economy.
And
Rockefeller's:
Like so many of my generation, my views on allowing gay couples to marry have been challenged in recent years by a new, more open generation. Churches and ministers should never have to perform marriages that violate their religious beliefs, but the government shouldn’t discriminate against people who want to marry just because of their gender. Younger people in West Virginia and even my own children have grown up in a much more equal society and they rightly push us to question old assumptions – to think deeply about what it means for all Americans to be created equal. This has been a process for me, but at this point I think it’s clear that DOMA is discriminatory. I’m against discrimination in all its forms, and I think we can move forward in our progress toward true equality by repealing DOMA.
It does look like a rush for everybody concerned about their place in history to get on the record before the Supreme Court ruling. That's the cynic in me talking. But hey, I'll take the support regardless.
The floodgates have truly opened. Supporters are coming out of the woodwork so fast, my head is spinning. There is no turning back on this issue.
Now, on to the Supreme Court.