Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk blasted Gov. Mike Pence for signing Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, declaring it a form of "bigotry."
In a statement Wednesday, Kirk declared that he "strongly opposes" Pence's decision, adding: "We should not enshrine bigotry under the cover of religion. It's not just bad practice — it's un-American."
The Illinois Republican's comment is not a surprise, the website noted. He was the second GOP senator to come out in favor of homosexual marriage and touts his support of
gay-rights causes in Congress.
Kirk faces a difficult fight for re-election next year in Illinois, a blue state which legalized gay marriage two years ago.
In 2010 – a banner year for Republicans – Kirk was elected to the Senate with 48 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic opponent by two percentage points – and he is near the top of every list of
endangered Republican senators in 2016.
After Kirk
tweeted his opposition to Indiana's religious freedom law on Wednesday, he drew a torrent of criticism from supporters of the Indiana statute.
The conservative website Twitchy reported that backers of the measure deluged the senator with sharply worded responses such as, "with GOP Senators like Mark Kirk, who needs Democrats?" and attacks on his opposition to the Indiana law. Many demanded to know whether he also opposed his
own state's version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
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