Sen. Bill Nelson Backs Marriage

"It is generally accepted in American law and U.S. society today 'that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.' I believe that. The civil rights and responsibilities for one must pertain to all. Thus, to discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me. If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by Gays and Lesbians? 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. So I will add my name to the petition of senators asking the Supreme Court to declare the law that prohibits gay marriage unconstitutional." - Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), in a statement issued today to the Tampa Bay Times.  Nelson makes it 51 members of the Senate that have endorsed marriage.

NOTE: Even though I haven't lived in Florida for almost two decades, I did my own little part with Nelson by emailing and tweeting him to note that I'd voted for him every time he ran for the US House and that as a fellow Orlandoan I deserved his support. Nelson was the keynote speaker at my high school graduation when he was still in the Florida legislature.