PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican Sen. Susan Collins on
Wednesday announced her support for gay marriage for the first time
after getting an endorsement from the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy
organization in her bid for re-election.
"A number of states,
including my home state of Maine, have now legalized same-sex marriage,
and I agree with that decision," the Maine Republican said in a
statement issued after several news organizations made inquiries.
Collins
joins three other GOP senators who have said they support gay marriage:
Illinois’ Mark Kirk, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Ohio’s Rob Portman.
She
had been criticized for keeping her view to herself until Wednesday.
Campaign spokesman Lance Dutson says she’s consistently said the
decision rests at the state or local level. She has twice voted against
proposed constitutional amendments to define marriage as between a man
and a woman.
It’s the third time Collins won the endorsement of
the Human Rights Campaign, which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender equality.
"Senator Susan Collins has played a pivotal
role in advancing support for LGBT equality — from her dogged support
for the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to her critical vote for the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act last year," said Chad Griffin, the
group’s president. "HRC is proud to stand with Senator Collins, and with
allies on both sides of the aisle like her, because she firmly believes
that every American should be evaluated based on their abilities, and
not who they love."
Collins, who’s seeking a fourth term, is being
challenged by Democrat Shenna Bellows, who attacked Collins for being
reticent to address the issue, even after state voters approved a
referendum in 2012 that legalized same-sex marriage.
Bellows, former executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, campaigned publicly in support of
the referendum.
"Remaining
silent on some of the biggest civil rights issues of our generation,
even after the voters have spoken, isn’t leadership, and it isn’t how
Maine became one of the most inclusive states in the country for LGBT
rights," she said.