U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced today his support of same-sex marriage as public opinion continues to trend toward marriage equality.
In a statement released today, the Illinois senator said he pledged to begin the current congressional session with an “open mind.”
As euphoria from the Nov. 6 general election fades, LGBT advocates look forward to continued progress in Congress and an upcoming Supreme Court decision on whether to hear several gay marriage cases.
The Nov. 6 vote was, without a doubt, the “gayest” election in the history of American politics. From four state-level gay marriage victories in Minnesota, Maine, Maryland and Washington to the election of Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) as the country’s first-ever openly gay U.S. senator, equality advocates had much to celebrate.
But there’s plenty of work that remains unfinished. An all-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, universal marriage rights for all of the country’s gay and lesbian couples and working to eradicate bullying of LGBT youth are some of the items that remain on the agenda of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT political group.