Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) AP Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the third Republican senator to support gay marriage.

In a passionate statement released Wednesday, Murkowski said that our nation's current laws consign same-sex couples to "a second-class existence."

She also argued that marriage equality is "a personal liberty issue":

I believe that, as Americans, our freedoms come from God and not government, and include the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What could be more important to the pursuit of happiness than the right to choose your spouse without asking a Washington politician for permission? If there is one belief that unifies most Alaskans – our true north – it is less government and more freedom. We don’t want the government in our pockets or our bedrooms; we certainly don’t need it in our families.

She also argued that marriage has been weakening as an institution and extending marriage rights to same-sex couples would strengthen it:

With the notion of marriage – an exclusive, emotional, binding ‘til death do you part’ tie – becoming more and more an exception to the rule given a rise in cohabitation and high rates of divorce, why should the federal government be telling adults who love one another that they cannot get married, simply because they happen to be gay? I believe when there are so many forces pulling our society apart, we need more commitment to marriage, not less.

Murkowski is the third Republican senator to support gay marriage. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) announced their support earlier this year.

In March, Murkowski told the Alaska Star that her views on marriage equality were "evolving."

Murkowski has supported pro-gay rights legislation in the past. In 2010, she was one of eight Republican senators voting to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on homosexuality.