Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor is one of four Democratic senators who are remaining silent in support of gay marriage. As reported by ThinkProgress on Saturday, Pryor is actually "undecided" on the issue of same-sex marriage, his main reason being that he is unsure if being gay is actually a choice.
The senator says he does have friends who are gay though.
"I did talk with some friends of mine in the gay and lesbian community over the last week or so. We talked about this issue. We also talked about a question I received in the office not too long ago where they asked whether being gay was a choice or whether you were born that way. I told them, I said, 'Honestly I've never really thought a lot about that'."
Pryor said that his friends said it was not a choice for them and he respected that and understands their struggle. He also said it will take patience for him to decide one way or another . As fifty three senators have come out in support of marriage equality, Pryor is not committing to extending federal benefits to gays and lesbians, one of the reasons is that he believes it will be costly for the government.
"This is one that is an evolving issue in Washington. I haven't really analyzed this in terms of benefits and what that does for the federal budget."
The other three Democratic senators who have not come out in support of same-sex marriage are West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landriue. All seem to be competing to be the last to stand up for or against same-sex marriage while other conservative Democrats "evolve" in their beliefs.
On Thursday Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida showed his support and released the following inspired statement:
"Thus, to discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me. if we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by gays and lesbians."
On Friday, Sen. Heidi Heikamp of North Dakota and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana joined the charge.
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