'I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do,' Warner said. Warner backs same-sex marriage

Sen. Mark Warner became the second senator in less than 24 hours to endorse same-sex marriage, and one of several Democrats from red-tinged states who backed off their opposition to gay marriage on Monday.

“I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia wrote in a post on his Facebook page. “Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone.”


Warner held off on supporting gay marriage until Monday, although he signed on to a legal brief pushing to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this month.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, on Monday slammed DOMA as “discriminatory,” noting that he went through a “process” to arrive at that conclusion.

“Younger people in West Virginia and even my own children have grown up in a much more equal society and they rightly push us to question old assumptions — to think deeply about what it means for all Americans to be created equal,” Rockefeller said in a statement sent to POLITICO. “This has been a process for me, but at this point I think it’s clear that DOMA is discriminatory. I’m against discrimination in all its forms, and I think we can move forward in our progress toward true equality by repealing DOMA.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) endorsed gay marriage in a statement Sunday night. But Warner’s move might be the most noteworthy, since he is up for reelection in 2014. McCaskill won’t face voters until 2018 and Rockefeller is retiring.

The endorsements follow a slew of good news for backers of same-sex marriage as Supreme Court hearings on both DOMA and California’s Proposition 8 approach on Tuesday and Wednesday. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have announced their support, and support for gay marriage has hit a new high of 58 percent in an ABC/Washington Post poll.

Katie Glueck contributed to this report.