The Houston Republican who last week snubbed her party over a letter condemning gay marriage this week became the first GOP legislator in the state to back marriage equality.
“I just don’t agree with the sentiment of the letter,” Davis told the Observer. “I don’t feel the need to pass legislation or vote for legislation that prohibits two adults who love each other to be able to be joined in a civil union or marriage. It does not affect my marriage.”
That makes Davis “the first Republican state lawmaker in Texas history” to publicly back gay marriage, according to the Observer.
Davis, whose District 134 includes West University Place, Bellaire, River Oaks and Memorial Park, told the Observer that supporting gay marriage is in line with the views of her constituents.
“This is not breaking news, and if someone chooses to run against me in the primary and wants to make abortion or gay marriage an issue, then we’ll face that,” Davis said. “I’ve had contested primaries in the past, and those issues have come up, and my margin of victory actually increases every election.”
In September 2013, Davis backed civil unions and called on lawmakers to remove the state sodomy ban – ruled unconstitutional in 2003 by the U.S. Supreme Court. She gay-friendly positions also earned her endorsements from two LGBT groups.
Via the San Antonio Express-News:
“I believe marriage is a religious sacrament, and the government should not force congregations to perform the ceremonies, however I do not oppose two consenting adults entering into civil unions,” Davis said by text message Tuesday. “The greatest threat to freedom is fiscal in nature, not social.”
