Augusta - The announcement came in Augusta on Monday: former LePage Communications Director Dan Demeritt joined Republican lawmakers like Cumberland State Representative Meredith Strang-Burgess and Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield to announce they'll be voting in favor of allowing same sex couples to marry in Maine this November.

20 members of the GOP, including 3 elected officials, have signed a pledge to form the Republicans United for Marriage, partnering with Mainers United for Marriage and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.

Strang-Burgess was the only Republican who supported gay marriage back in 2009 when she co-sponsored the bill that passed the 124th Maine Legislature and was signed into law by Governor John Baldacci, briefly making same sex marriage legal in Maine. A citizens initiative put the issue to the Maine voters who voted to repeal that law.

Fitts, who is term limited and cannot seek reelection, voted against the bill three years ago, but now says he's changed his mind. "I know many gay couples. I've talked with them. I've talked with my family, my friends. I've thought about it a lot. And as a husband and a father, I've come to believe two people who love each other should have the freedom to get married," Fitts said in Augusta Monday.

Fitts also took the time to talk about the events that led him to vote against the same sex marriage bill back in 2009. "For me personally looking back on 2009 and that vote, it was very apparent given the numbers it was going to pass," said Fitts. "It was a very easy vote within a caucus, I think, to stay within your caucus and not have to put yourself out there. That's the interesting thing about politics is that you can use those things as a cover sometimes."

Fitts added that he doesn't regret that vote, but wishes he had spoken out during the citizens initiative campaign that once again outlawed same sex marriage in Maine. "I never felt uncomfortable with any of my votes. I think maybe where I personally fell short was not stepping forward during that summer and making the case that the repeal effort maybe wasn't such a good idea."

So far three sitting Republican lawmakers have signed on to Republicans United for Marriage, but supporters of same sex marriage say they expect more Republicans to join them in the coming months.

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