Obama Says He Is Evolving on Homosexual Marriage
Thursday, October 28, 2010
By
Fred Lucas
President Barack Obama participates in a youth town hall event broadcast live on BET, CMT and MTV networks, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010, in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Washington (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama, who has publicly supported civil unions but not same-sex marriage, told a group of bloggers Thursday his position is evolving.
“I am a strong supporter of civil unions. As you say, I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage,” Obama said.
“But I also think you’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine,” Obama continued. “And I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships.”
Although he has never signed on to a federal homosexual marriage proposal, Obama campaigned on ending the Defense of Marriage Act – a law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and says one state cannot be required to recognize a homosexual marriage performed in another state.
If DOMA is repealed, it could effectively nationalize same-sex marriage, as, for example, Texas would have to recognize a gay marriage performed in Massachusetts.
The president did imply a sense of inevitability about same-sex marriage: “The one thing I will say today is I think it’s pretty clear where the trendlines are going,” Obama said. He did not elaborate.
In all, 37 states have adopted voter-approved state constitutional amendments to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president’s views were influenced by those he knows.
“He went through what his position was,” Gibbs said. “He went through why his position was that. At the same, time he talks to colleagues and co-workers and hears them talk about being treated differently and that internalizes it.”
Obama and Homosexual Marriage
