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Prominent political figures who support same-sex marriage The list of U.S. politicians advocating for gay marriage is growing rapidly. Here are some other prominent political figures who support same-sex marriage.
Former Florida governor Charlie Crist
The former Republican governor backed gay marriage in a message May 7 on his Facebook page. "I most certainly support marriage equality in Florida and look forward to the day it happens here,'' he wrote. (At left, Crist, who turned independent and then Democrat, addresses the Democratic National Convention in September 2012).
Jason Reed
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Reuters
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Sen. Tim Johnson
The South Dakota Democrat made his announcement April 8 in a statement. “After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation. This position doesn’t require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply forbids government from discrimination regarding who can marry whom.”
Jay Pickthorn
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AP
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp
The North Dakota Democrat reversed her previous stance April 5 by saying she supports same-sex marriage. “In speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships,” Heitkamp said in a statement. “I view the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief.”
Alex Wong
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Sen. Joe Donnelly
The Indiana Democrat, who was elected last fall, said April 5 that he supports same-sex marriage. “With the recent Supreme Court arguments and accompanying public discussion of same-sex marriage, I have been thinking about my past positions and votes,” he said. “In doing so, I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support marriage equality for all.” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) voiced her support the same day.
Michael Conroy
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AP
Sen. Bill Nelson
The Florida Democrat became the 51st U.S. senator to back gay marriage in an April 4 column in the Tampa Bay Times. "If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by gays and lesbians?'' he wrote. "Simply put, if the Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate against their civil marriage? I shouldn't, and I won't.''
J. Scott Applewhite
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AP
Sen. Tom Carper
“All Americans ultimately should be free to marry the people they love and intend to share their lives with, regardless of their sexual orientation,’’ Carper wrote on his Facebook page April 2. “That’s why today, after a great deal of soul searching, I’m endorsing marriage equality.”
Charles Dharapak
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AP
Sen. Mark Kirk
The Illinois Republican said he changed his mind on same-sex marriage after a severe stroke kept him from the Capitol for much of 2012. "I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others,'' Kirk said April 2. "Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back — government has no place in the middle.''
Brian Kersey
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Sen. Bob Casey
The Pennsylvania Democrat said he supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and then backed same-sex marriage outright. "At a time when many Americans lament a lack of commitment in our society between married men and women, why would we want less commitment and fewer strong marriages?''
Matt Rourke
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AP
Sen. Kay Hagan
The North Carolina Democrat endorsed same-sex marriage rights in a Facebook post March 27. "After much thought and prayer, I have come to my own personal conclusion that we shouldn't tell people who they can love or who they can marry,'' the post said.
Lynne Sladky
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AP
Sen. Jon Tester
In a Facebook post March 26, the Montana Democrat wrote: “I'm proud to support marriage equality because no one should be able to tell a Montanan or any American who they can love and who they can marry.”
Matt Gouras
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AP
Sen. Mark R. Warner
The Virginia Democrat announced in late March that he supports same-sex marriage. A recent Washington Post poll found that 49 percent of Virginians back such marriages, including 54 percent of independents. Forty percent are opposed.
Win McNamee
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Sen. Jay Rockefeller
The West Virginia Democrat said March 25 that he'd gone through a process before determining that limits on same-sex marriage were “discriminatory.” “Younger people in West Virginia and even my own children have grown up in a much more equal society,” he said, “and they rightly push us to question old assumptions — to think deeply about what it means for all Americans to be created equal.”
Susan Walsh
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AP
Sen. Claire McCaskill
The Missouri Democrat said March 24 that she supports marriage equality. “I have come to the conclusion that our government should not limit the right to marry based on who you love,” McCaskill wrote on her Tumblr page.
Susan Walsh
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AP
Hillary Clinton
Former Democratic senator and secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed same-sex marriage in a video posted online March 18 by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group. “America is at its best when we champion the freedom and dignity of every human being,’’ the potential 2016 presidential candidate said.
Chip Somodevilla
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Sen. Rob Portman
The Ohio Republican, on Mitt Romney's 2012 shortlist for a running mate, said he changed his view on the issue after his son, Will, a Yale student, came out. "'If two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment . . . the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,'' Portman said on March 15.
Alex Brandon
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AP
President Obama
"I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama told Robin Roberts in an ABC News interview on May 9. The declaration followed intensifying pressure from gay campaign donors and Vice President Biden's weekend comments that Biden is ''absolutely comfortable'' with same-sex marriage.
Carolyn Kaster
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AP
Vice President Biden
The vice president famously gave his support to same-sex marriage before the president did, saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction — beyond that."
Charles Dharapak
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AP
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
Cuomo (D) became a hero to the gay rights movement after his successful effort to get same-sex marriage through New York's legislature in 2011.
Mandel Ngan
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AFP/Getty Images
Dick Cheney, former vice president
Cheney (R) declared his support for same-sex marriage in 2009 and lobbied Maryland Republicans in February to support same-sex marriage. His second daughter, Mary, is a lesbian.
Richard Drew
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AP
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg (I) called Obama's decision to support same-sex marriage ''a major turning point for civil rights.'' Bloomberg also created a super PAC to spend millions on candidates in both parties who back his top causes — including same-sex marriage.
Karly Domb Sadof
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AP
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire
On Feb. 13, when Gregoire (D) signed same-sex marriage into law in Washington state, she said: "I ask all Washingtonians to look into your hearts and ask yourselves: Isn’t it time? . . . We in this state stand proud for equality."
Chris Joseph Taylor
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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley
O'Malley (D) helped push a bill to allow same-sex marriage through the Maryland legislature this year.
Patrick Semansky
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AP
Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Duncan, when asked on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” whether he thinks gays and lesbians should be able to marry, answered: "Yes, I do."
Jay LaPrete
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AP
Newark Mayor Cory Booker
"Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right,'' Booker (D) said on Jan. 24.
Mel Evans
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AP
Former president Jimmy Carter
Carter supports legalizing same-sex marriage, but he told the Huffington Post that each place of worship should be able to decide whether it wants to perform such marriages. "Jesus never said a word about homosexuality,'' Carter was quoted as saying. "In all of his teachings about multiple things — he never said that gay people should be condemned.''
Paul J. Richards
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AFP
Former president Bill Clinton
Clinton campaigned to stop North Carolina from banning same-sex marriage. "What it will change is North Carolina's ability to keep good businesses, attract new jobs, and attract and keep talented entrepreneurs," Clinton said in an automated call. "If it passes, your ability to keep those businesses, get those jobs, and get those talented entrepreneurs will be weakened."
Michael Norris
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Amarillo Globe-News via AP
DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The Democratic National Committee leader and Florida congresswoman has said same-sex marriage is "the civil rights issue of our generation." She says the idea that Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage because it would be a good move for him politically illustrates the progress the LGBT community has achieved.
Charles Dharapak
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AP
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Obama chief of staff
Emanuel backed pending legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. "I'll push for it because it is consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that I think is right as a city, as a state and as a country," said Emanuel, who supported same-sex marriage during the campaign.
Daniel Acker
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Bloomberg News
Former first lady Laura Bush
Bush publicly broke with her husband on abortion and same-sex marriage in a 2009 interview with Larry King. Not only did she support same-sex marriage, when asked if it will become the law of the land, she replied: "Yeah, that will come, I think.''
Spencer Platt
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Getty Images
Caroline Kennedy, co-chair, Obama's reelection campaign
John F. Kennedy's only surviving child on May 7 presented "Profile in Courage" awards to the three ex-Iowa judges who were voted out of office in 2010 following their decision to legalize same-sex marriage. The judges, Kennedy said, "put their lives and careers on the line to protect the fundamental civil rights of Americans who wish to marry the person they love.''
Stephan Savoia
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AP
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Moments after Obama's announcement, Villaraigosa tweeted: "We stand w/Pres. Obama — love doesn't have a color, love doesn’t care if you're gay or straight. Love doesn’t discriminate."
David McNew
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Getty Images
Former secretary of state Colin Powell
In an interview on CNN's "The Situation Room, " Powell also came out in favor of same-sex marriage,"I have no problem with it."
Lois Raimondo
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The Washington Post
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)
In 2011, the Florida congresswoman became the first Republican to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, a proposed bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act prohibiting same-sex marriage. "I'm a pro-life, gay rights advocate so I manage to upset many folks at any given time," she told the Miami Herald.
Sarah L. Voisin
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The Washington Post
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