An Arizona state senator announced on Wednesday that he is gay.
Senate Minority Whip Steve Gallardo came out this week, after the passage and veto of anti-gay legislation prompted him to publicize his sexual orientation.
44-year-old Gallardo, who has long disapproved of the Republican majority on Capitol Hill, hasn't made LGBT rights one of his main issues, according to a report by the Arizona Republic. But once a piece of legislation called SB 1062 passed, he realized he wanted to make a statement.
"Two weeks ago was a difference," the Arizona Republic quoted Gallardo as saying. "Feb. 19 was an actual game changer."
On that day, the Arizona Senate passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed business owners in the state to turn away customers based on their religious beliefs. If an entrepreneur's faith didn't accept LGBT citizens, they could refuse to serve gay or lesbian clients.
Following the bill's passage into law, state legislators were hit with a wave of backlash - many considered the code as a way to legally discriminate against certain groups, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks.
Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill shortly after it went through the system.
Gallardo said he spent an entire weekend thinking about how to come forward and release information his family and friends knew for years.
"I am gay, I'm Latino and I'm a senator," he said. "And it's OK."
Gallardo now joins two other openly homosexual members of the Legislature, the Arizona Republic reported. Phoenix Senator Robert Meza and Tucson Rep. Demion Clinco have also publicized their sexual orientation in the past.
Gallardo, who was elected to the Senate in 2010 and brought back in two years later, usually focuses his efforts on immigration rights and reform.