The mayor of San Diego testified Tuesday that he regretted opposing same-sex marriage before learning his daughter was a lesbian in a committed relationship.

Mayor Jerry Sanders said his change of heart was a defining personal moment.

“I had been prejudiced,” he said during a civil trial on the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage. “I was saying one group of people did not deserve the same respect, did not deserve the same symbolism of marriage, and I was saying their marriages were less important than those of heterosexuals.”

Sanders, a Republican, took the witness stand on behalf of two same-sex couples suing to overturn Proposition 8, the state’s voter-approved ban.

Sanders recounted his last-minute decision in 2008 to sign a City Council resolution backing efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. The decision contradicted his public pledge to veto the resolution.

Read the rest of Lisa Leff’s AP article here.