Editing Bill Nelson (section)

=== LGBT rights ===
On December 18, 2010, Nelson voted in favor of the [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281 |title=Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2965 |publisher=U.S. Senate |date=December 18, 2010 |access-date=April 1, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/senate/2/281 |title=Senate Vote 281 – Repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' |work=The New York Times |date=December 18, 2010 |access-date=April 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027055830/http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/senate/2/281 |archive-date=October 27, 2015}}</ref> which established a legal process for ending the policy that prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the [[United States Armed Forces]].

On April 4, 2013, Nelson announced that he no longer opposed same-sex marriage. He wrote, "The civil rights and responsibilities for one must pertain to all. Thus, to discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me. 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."<ref name=":5">{{cite web|title=Florida Senator Bill Nelson no longer opposes gay marriage|url=http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/4/4/florida_senator_bill.html|publisher=CFN13|access-date=April 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407160106/http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/4/4/florida_senator_bill.html|archive-date=April 7, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>