
3 Republican senators now support gay marriage
(CNN) – Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced her support Wednesday for same-sex marriage, becoming the third sitting GOP senator to back the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry.
She made her endorsement during an interview with a local television station in Alaska and in an opinion piece on her website, just days before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on two high-profile cases involving same-sex marriage.
"I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love and choose because I believe doing so promotes both values: it keeps politicians out of the most private and personal aspects of peoples’ lives – while also encouraging more families to form and more adults to make a lifetime commitment to one another," she wrote.
"Senator Murkowski's courageous and principled announcement today sends a clear message that marriage equality must come to all 50 states in this country," Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement. "We hope other fair-minded conservatives like Senator Murkowski stand up and join her. Alaska may be nicknamed 'the Last Frontier,' but we've got to make sure that LGBT Alaskans don't have to wait to find justice."