Marriage Equality Gains Support From Two Swing-State Democrats Via Social Media

Support for marriage equality has swept across the country in recent years, with more Americans supporting the issue than opposing it. Now more politicians are following suit. This week two Democratic senators from swing-states have joined the tides of those throwing their support behind same-sex marriage. What’s more? They both used social media to make their announcements.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (pictured above) chose Tumblr to get her message out. In a Tumblr post entitled “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13,” McCaskill put forth her argument for marriage equality.

“I have come to the conclusion that our government should not limit the right to marry based on who you love,” McCaskill said in her Tumblr post. “While churches should never be required to conduct marriages outside of their religious beliefs, neither should the government tell people who they have a right to marry.”

McCaskill said that it became difficult for her to look gay and lesbian friends, colleagues, and staff in the eyes without confronting this “uncomfortable inequality.” She argued that supporting gay marriage is the right thing to do in a country founded on the principals of liberty and equality.

Virginia Senator Mark Warner’s remarks were less profound.

“I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do,” the former governor (pictured below) said in a Facebook status. “Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone.”

Warner proceeded to tout his record on the issue. He noted that he was the first Virginia governor to extent anti-discimination protects to LGBT workers, supported an end to the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, and supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

These announcements came a day before today’s Supreme Court hearing on California’s Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that only allowed the state to recognize marriages between a man and a woman. If the Supreme Court rules Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional, the ruling would also invalidate similar laws across the country.

“Good people disagree with me,” McCaskill said in her Tumblr post regarding marriage equality. “On the other hand, my children have a hard time understanding why this is even controversial. I think history will agree with my children.”