The Republican Party has always been adamantly opposed to marriage equality as part of their official platform. However, some members of the party, especially its younger members, do not agree with this stance. As the party continues to stubbornly resist change and progress it risks losing younger generations of voters, but some members of have been changing their stance on the issue.

One of these politicians is Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.). According to the Washington Post, the congressman belongs to a dwindling number of moderate Republicans who do not disagree on everything with the opposing party. Dent is known for having spoken against the government shutdown instigated by his party and has been a supporter of some gay rights issues like workplace nondiscrimination and equal immigration benefits.

However, he had never said he favored marriage equality. Yet, following his home state's ruling overturning its same-sex marriage ban, Dent announced his support for marriage equality in a statement first received by the Washington Post.

"Life is too short to have the force of government stand in the way of two adults whose pursuit of happiness includes marriage," Dent wrote. "As a Republican, I value equality, personal freedom and a more limited role for government in our lives. I believe this philosophy should apply to the issue of marriage as well."

The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz points out that Dent has joined a very small group of Republicans who support marriage equality. They are Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) and Richard Hanna (N.Y.).

Dent cited the Pennsylvania judge's ruling in his statement, according to MSNBC.

"Fundamentally, this is about equality," Dent's statement read. "As Federal District Judge John Jones -- a man for whom I have great respect and have known for 20 years -- wrote, 'In the 60 years since Brown was decided, 'separate' has thankfully faded into history and only 'equal' remains. Similarly, in future generations the label same-sex marriage will be abandoned, to be replaced simply by marriage.'"

MSNBC points out, however, how much more progress awaits the GOP. Out of the 278 lawmakers in Congress, only six support same-sex marriage, just 2.1 percent of Republicans.