Citing "heartfelt letters" and one in particular from a mother of two in a committed same-sex relationship, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Monday he supports same-sex marriage and will vote to repeal the federal law that bans it if he gets the chance.
As recently as last week, Casey's office said he still supports same-sex civil unions, his position in his 2006 and 2012 Senate election campaigns, without mentioning he was considering anything different. The statement said he would review repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act if repeal came before the Senate. The act bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages.
By the time his office put out the statement last week, Casey had already resolved to think hard about his position during a four-day Easter weekend vacation at his in-laws' Florida home. There, he said, he authored a new statement himself, which was released with only minor tweaks suggested by his staff.
In his statement, Casey said "deeply personal statements" written to him by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans and their families substantially influenced his decision.
"If two people of the same sex fall in love and want to marry, why would our government stand in their way?" he wrote. "At a time when many Americans lament a lack of commitment in our society between married men and women, why would we want less commitment and fewer strong marriages? If two people of the same sex want to raise children, why would our government prevent them from doing so, especially when so many children have only one parent, or none at all?"
In an interview, Casey said, "There's not a very compelling answer to those questions that I posed that makes much sense."
The letter that made a "particularly compelling" case came from southeastern Pennsylvania, Casey said. The senator and his spokeswoman declined to identify the woman who wrote it but he quoted liberally from her letter.
'My partner and I are both college educated," the woman wrote. "I am a stay-at-home mom and part-time kindergarten assistant teacher. I left a full-time position ... when my partner gave birth to our twins to be a stay-at-home mom. We went through the process of second-parent adoption and are both legal parents to our kids. My partner and I have been in a committed relationship for 18 years. We attend church every Sunday and we own a house, cars, and are truly blessed by our (two children)."
"I want my kids to know they are equal and our family is equal," she wrote.
Casey, who had supported repeal of the military's "don't-ask-don't-tell" policy on homosexuality, said he had been moving toward endorsing same-sex marriage "for a while." He decided to come out in favor now because of all the interest in two pending Supreme Court cases.
"They'll say, 'You did it because of all of the attention paid to it,' " he said. "But sometimes that's the optimal time to speak to an issue when people are asking about it."
Casey said he opposes forcing churches to perform same-sex marriages but his overall position also puts him at odds with his religion. Casey is Catholic and the Catholic Church forbids same-sex marriage.
"I can (reconcile that)," he said. "My faith has inspired me, it's informed me. It's one of the reasons, in addition to my parents and my upbringing, that I decided to run for public office, serve in the Jesuit volunteer corps (as a teacher). I mean, my faith has been very important to me, but it has never been something that specifically dictates a public policy position, nor should it be. I think that's the way I should approach it."
Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which sharply opposes same-sex marriage, said Casey caved to special interests and no longer seems to understand "the unique nature of marriage."
"This is so much different than the character and fortitude of his father, Gov. (Robert) Casey, who famously and courageously bucked his party's embrace of abortion on demand, even to the point of beginning a campaign for president to stand up for what is right," Geer said. "Many supporters of Sen. Casey had hoped for more from him and today are sadly disappointed ..."
But Adrian Shanker, president of the gay-rights group Equality Pennsylvania, praised Casey for reaching the same conclusion as a majority of Americans and Pennsylvanians.
"I've spoken to Sen. Casey about this very issue numerous times over the last three years, and I can tell you that he's been very genuine in the reality of this, that this was an issue he was grappling with," Shanker said.