Original sentence: Independent thinking, political pandering, and his affiliation with the Mormon church – which is relatively tolerant on many social issues – have all been cited as possible reasons for his unusual positions.Since then, gay rights groups have expressed disappointment at his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would define marriage as between a man and a woman.Smith has not conformed to either liberal or conservative positions in his views on social policy
Edited sentence: Since then, he came out in support of the Federal Marriage Amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman