Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., announced her support for same-sex marriage on Wednesday, becoming the third Republican Senator to do so.
"I am a life-long Republican because I believe in promoting freedom and limiting the reach of government," Murkowski wrote in an op-ed piece. "When government does act, I believe it should encourage family values."
She added, "I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love and choose because I believe doing so promotes both values: it keeps politicians out of the most private and personal aspects of peoples' lives - while also encouraging more families to form and more adults to make a lifetime commitment to one another."
Murkowski noted that she supported a constitutional amendment in 1998 defining marriage as only between a man and a woman but said her thinking has evolved and America has witnessed a clear cultural shift since then.
"Fifteen years after that vote, I find that when one looks closer at the issue, you quickly realize that same sex unions or civil marriages are consistent with the independent mindset of our state - and they deserve a hands-off approach from our federal policies," Murkowski said.
Murkowski indicated that her thinking on the issue was influenced by meeting a lesbian couple who had adopted four children.
With the change in her position, Murkowski joins Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., as Republican Senators that have voiced support for same-sex marriage. Fifty-one Senate Democrats have also announced their support.
The announcement from Murkowski comes as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.
Responding to the news, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said, "Senator Murkowski's courageous and principled announcement today sends a clear message that marriage equality must come to all 50 states in this country."
"As the Supreme Court prepares to rule in two landmark marriage cases this month, a growing bipartisan coalition is standing up for the right of all couples to marry—and there is no turning back that tide," he added.
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