Sen. Bill Nelson Flips Gay Marriage Stance After Twitter Campaign

It was pressure from a Twitter campaign that led Florida Sen. Bill Nelson to flip his position and declare his support for gay marriage Thursday.

Nelson had previously supported civil unions for gay people but said he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. Now, he has had a change of heart.

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"If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn’t those be attainable by Gays and Lesbians?" Bill Nelson, a longtime Democrat, wrote in a statement on Thursday to The Tampa Bay Times editorial board. "Simply put, if The Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate against their civil marriage? I shouldn't, and I won't."

Ban on gay marriage is wrong. tampabay.com/opinion/column…

— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) April 4, 2013

The flip seems to stem from a "Twitter Bomb" launched by civil rights organization Equality Florida on Tuesday.

Please RT: TWITTERBOMB At 3pm EST, tweet to @senbillnelson asking him to evolve on Marriage Equality. Use the Hashtag #TimeToEvolve

— equalityflorida (@equalityfl) April 2, 2013

.@senbillnelson There are only 7 Democrats Senators that don't yet support marriage equality.Don't be the last one left. #TimeToEvolve

— Michael Long (@mikeallenlong) April 2, 2013

I dont understand why there are still dems not on the record supporting #marriageequality - looking at you @senbillnelson #timetoevolve

— Katie Miller(@KatiemillerOS) April 2, 2013

When they say "wrong side of history," 'history' means this moment. @senbillnelson, #TimeToEvolve on #marriageequality or be on wrong side.

— Baylor Johnson (@theBaylorJ) April 2, 2013

After he declared his new position, Nelson faced opposition from conservatives.

"And another one bites the dust," InquirinMinds commented on the Huffington Post. "No one against same-sex marriage is willing to stand up for what they believe. It's quite pathetic."

"All this bullying to get people to change their opinions," user Tmuiney wrote.

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