Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat serving his final year as the state's top attorney, said Saturday he supports allowing same-sex couples to wed but will continue defending his state's 2004 ban on gay marriages in court, according to the Associated Press.
"I want to tell you I do support marriage equality and I do believe Arkansans should have the right to be equal in the eyes of the law," said McDaniel, speaking at the Associated Press Managing Editors convention, the AP reported.
Federal judges have struck down similar bans keeping marriage between a man and a woman in Michigan, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia, according to the AP. A state judge is expected to rule by Friday in a lawsuit challenging Arkansas' ban.
"I'm going to zealously defend our constitution, but at the same time I think it's important to let people where I stand on the matter," McDaniel told the AP after his speech. "It's become more and more difficult for me to accept the idea of anyone being treated as a second class citizen."
McDaniel criticized Attorney General Eric Holder for telling his state counterparts in February they weren't obligated to defend laws in their states banning same-sex marriage if the laws discriminate in a way forbidden by the Constitution, according to the AP.
McDaniel said he didn't believe attorneys general should allow their personal views to influence whether they defend a state law, the AP reported.
"I do not take orders from Eric Holder and I'm determined to live up to my obligation, and that includes with regard to our state's definition of marriage," McDaniel said, according to the AP. When McDaniel ran ro attorney general in 2006, he said he believed marriage was between a man and a woman.
McDaniel ran briefly for governor but dropped out early last year after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a Hot Springs attorney, the AP reported. McDaniel said after his speech that he had considered backing marriage equality during that brief bid for the state's top office.
"Even when I was running for governor, there were times when I was like, 'don't you think it's time that I just say this and be done with it?'" McDaniel said, according to the AP. "It's controversial. There are some people who are going to think it was a great thing that I made this statement while in office, and there are going to be some people who are going to be deeply offended and angry. It really came down to why not today?"
Senator Mark Pryor and former Representative Mike Ross, who is running for governor, remain opposed to gay marriage, their spokesmen said Saturday, the AP reported.
