Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, serving the conservative state of South Dakota, just announced his support for same-sex marriage.
“After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,†Johnson said in a statement forst reported by David Montgomery at the Argus Leader:
“This position doesn’t require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply forbids government from discrimination regarding who can marry whom.â€
Johnson, who is not seeking re-election, becomes the 50th Democrat in the U.S. Senate to voice support for marriage, and the 54th Senator overall.
Of the remaining three:
Mary Landrieu – Louisiana
Joe Manchin — West Virginia
Mark Pryor — Arkansas
Landrieu stated last week that while she personally support marriage equality, she will not as a sitting Senator as her constituents are opposed.