Sen. Chris Todd Announces He Now Supports Marriage Equality

Pam's House Blend reports that Sen. Chris Dodd has switched positions on marriage equality and now supports it. Dodd, who voted for DOMA, has also sent an op-ed written for the The Meriden Record-Journal explaining his evolution on the matter.

His official statement, posted on his site, reads:

Public officials aren’t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it’s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting with members of the gay and lesbian community from across the state, I had the opportunity to tell them what I’ve learned about marriage, and about equality.

While I’ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (“civil unions”) and full marriage rights.

The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they’ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that’s not an easy thing to overcome.

But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn’t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.
------
I believe that, when my daughters grow up, barriers to marriage equality for same-sex couples will seem as archaic, and as unfair, as the laws we once had against inter-racial marriage.

And I want them to know that, even if he was a little late, their dad came down on the right side of history.

You can read the full statement on Sen. Dodd's site.

Here's Dodd's earlier statements during the 2007 primaries stating that he supports only civil unions.




ACTION: Contact Sen. Dodd and thank him for being brave enough to switch positions and support marriage equality!

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
448 Russell Building | Washington D.C., 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2823 | Fax: (202) 224-1083
Email form.