After "a great deal of soul searching," Delaware Sen. Tom Carper on Tuesday became the latest Democrat in the chamber to announce his support for same-sex marriage.
"As our society has changed and evolved, so too has the public's opinion on gay marriage?and so has mine," Carper wrote in a statement posted on his Facebook page. "I pray every day for God to grant me the wisdom to do what is right. Through 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."
With Carper's announcement, only seven Senate Democrats still oppose same-sex marriage: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Tim Johnson of South Dakota.
Carper's voice of support follows Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey's own declaration of support Monday.
Liberal advocacy groups like MoveOn.org are currently conducting coordinated campaigns to pressure the remaining senators. Many of the holdouts face re-election battles next year.
Also Tuesday, Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois announced his support for gay marriage. He became the second GOP senator to back same sex nuptials, following Ohio Republican Rob Portman, who announced last month he had decided to drop his opposition to gay marriage after his college-age son revealed he was gay.
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