(CNN) — The ranks of Senate Democrats who back same-sex marriage grew Friday morning by two as Indiana’s Joe Donnelly and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp came out publically in support of overturning a federal law banning marriages between men and women.
“With the recent Supreme Court arguments and accompanying public discussion of same-sex marriage, I have been thinking about my past positions and votes. In doing so, I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support marriage equality for all,” Donnelly, elected last November, wrote in a statement on his Facebook page.
Heitkamp, who also won election in 2012, wrote that after “speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships.”
Both Indiana and North Dakota are conservative-leaning states.
With Donnelly and Heitkamp’s announcements, there are now four Senate Democrats who have not backed marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples: Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Two Republicans have announced support for same-sex marriage: Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in two cases on the issue, including a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
