Pennsylvania Republican: ‘Life’s too short’ to not support same-sex marriage
One week after a federal judge ruled that Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, a Representative from the state has come out in support of the right of gay couples to marry.
Representative Charlie Dent announced his support yesterday, and became the sixth congressional Republican to support same-sex marriage.
“Life is too short to have the force of government stand in the way of two adults whose pursuit of happiness includes marriage,” he said.
“In conversations with my family, I have come to realise that they already see the world through that lens,” he continued.
Dent quoted Judge Jones’ ruling, saying: “In future generations the label ‘same-sex marriage’ will be abandoned, to be replaced simply by ‘marriage’.@
“As a Republican, I value equality, personal freedom and a more limited role for government in our lives. I believe this philosophy should apply to the issue of marriage as well.”
In coming out in support of same-sex marriage, Dent joins Rob Portman of Ohio, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, along with Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York, as the only Republicans who publicly support same-sex marriage.
