Senators Donnelly, Heitkamp Endorse Marriage Equality

Donnelly, Heitkamp

Two more Democratic U.S. senators have come out for marriage equality today: Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. 

Donnelly, who voted against marriage equality when he was in the House of Representatives, said the cases heard by the Supreme Court last week made him change his mind, USA Today reports.  “I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support marriage equality for all,” he said in a Facebook post.

Heitkamp also posted her change of heart on Facebook, saying, “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. “I view the ability to marry as a logical extension of this belief. The makeup of families is changing, but the importance of family is enduring.”

The activist group MoveOn.org noted that a constituent had used its petition platform to urge Heitkamp to change her position, and similar petitions are calling for the same move by the four remaining Democratic senators who have yet to come out for equal marriage rights: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.