The senior senator from Delaware Tuesday announced Tuesday his views have changed on same sex marriage.
The statement from Tom Carper comes as more congressmen and senators come out in favor of marriage equality and the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the issue. Carper was also seeing criticism in Delaware from backers of marriage equality legislation that is said to have a better than 50-50 chance of passage in this session of the Delaware General Assembly.
Carper had supported civil union legislation is now the law in Delaware. This followed a long period when state legislators failed to pass bills aimed at barring employers and others from discrimination based on gender preference.
Recently, DuPont Co. endorsed marriage equality legislation in its home state of Delaware.
Carper issued the following statement on his Facebook page:
As our society has changed and evolved, so too has the public’s opinion on gay marriage – and so has mine. I pray every day for God to grant me the wisdom to do what is right. Through my prayers and conversations with my family and countless friends and Delawareans, I’ve been reminded of the power of one of my core values: the Golden Rule. It calls on us to treat others as we want to be treated. That means, to me, that all Americans ultimately should be free to marry the people they love and intend to share their lives with, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that’s why today, after a great deal of soul searching, I’m endorsing marriage equality.
