Long before gay marriage was popular, Kamala Harris was at the forefront of the equal rights battle

Two decades ago, a Democratic nominee for president might not have dreamed of endorsing gay marriage. But on Valentine's Day in 2004, when Kamala Harris was San Francisco's newly elected district attorney, she was performing one of the first same-sex unions in the United States. To LGBTQ leaders, that history validates their deep support for the Democrats' White House candidate. In 2012, Barack Obama became the first presidential nominee to endorse the right. Now gay marriage is a cornerstone of the party’s platform, and it even has occasional support from Republicans, too. But some Democrats still view Harris as a trailblazer on the issue because of her early involvement.