GOProud finally backs gay marriage

After declining to take a position on the issue for years, GOProud, the group for gay conservatives, told BuzzFeed Friday it is coming out in support of same-sex marriage equality.

“We support same-sex marriage, civil marriage,” GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia said.

The move follows a decision by the GOProud board earlier this month to expand the group’s mission to include state-level work. It also comes after, LaSalvia noted, the re-election of a president who supports same-sex couples’ marriage rights, while some in the Republican Party are urging their party to reassess their position on the issue.

Since its founding in 2009, GOProud has always opposed the federal Defense of Marriage Act, calling the law a “federal power grab,” but it avoided the underlying issue of marriage rights.