US
Presidential Election 2012
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| President Obama said in 2010 that his views on gay marriage were "evolving" |
US
President Barack Obama has ended months of equivocation on the issue of gay
marriage by saying he thinks same-sex couples should be able to wed.
He told ABC
News: "It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex
couples should be able to get married."
Mr Obama
has become the first US president to back gay marriage.
In recent
days, Vice-President Joe Biden and cabinet member Arne Duncan had expressed
support for gay unions.
The
interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts was apparently hastily arranged as Mr
Obama came under mounting pressure to clarify his position on the issue.
During the
ABC interview, which airs later on Wednesday, Mr Obama pointed to his
administration's commitment to increasing rights for gay citizens.
He also
cited the repeal of the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and said his
administration had dropped support for the Defense of Marriage Act.
"I've
stood on the side of broader equality for the LGBT community. I hesitated on
gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient,"
Mr Obama said.
"I was
sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word 'marriage' evokes very
powerful traditions, religious beliefs.
"I
have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to
friends and family and neighbours, when I think about members of my own staff
who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex
relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers
or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet
feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are
not able to commit themselves in a marriage," Obama said.
"I've
just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and
affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."
In 2010, Mr
Obama said his views on the issue were "evolving", a stance that had
frustrated gay rights supporters and donors.
His
comments came a day after North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment
effectively banning same-sex marriage or civil unions.
Before that
vote, the Obama campaign had opposed the measure, which was passed with 61% in
favour and 39% against.
While Mr
Obama is the first US president to support gay marriage, correspondents said
the president's views on gay marriage were likely to upset some voters.
Some
African-American voters oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds.
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2 women share 1st kiss at US Navy ship's return
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(AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Brian J. Clark)
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President Barack Obama gestures as he talks about cutting the U.S. deficit
by raising taxes, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington September 19, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing) |
About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”
"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)
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