Begich latest senator to endorse gay marriage

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) late Monday night added his voice to the growing chorus of Democratic senators announcing support for gay marriage ahead of Tuesday’s hearing at the Supreme Court.

{mosads}”I believe that same-sex couples should be able to marry and should have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other married couple,” the Alaskan senator said in a statement obtained by Buzzfeed.

“Government should keep out of individuals’ personal lives—if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to. Alaskans are fed up with government intrusion into our private lives, our daily business, and in the way we manage our resources and economy,” he continued.

The statement precedes oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday on a pair of cases examining states’ and the federal government’s ability to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

On Monday, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) also announced their support for gay marriage; last week, Republican Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton similarly announced shifts on the subject.

{mossecondads}The flood of lawmakers now backing same-sex marriage is partially an indication of shifting national attitudes. A Washington Post / ABC News poll released last week showed that 58 percent of Americans backed gay marriage, an all-time high.