Over nearly two s polics, Print Obama has staked out changg posns on gay rights. Here are the biggt ton.
Contents:
- THE 'EVOLUTN' OF OBAMA'S STANCE ON GAY MARRIAGE
- OBAMA CLAR SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE
- OBAMA'S EVOLUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE
- OBAMA'S GAY MARRIAGE NTROVERSY: 'I AM JT NOT VERY GOOD AT BULLSHTG'
- DO OBAMA SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE?
THE 'EVOLUTN' OF OBAMA'S STANCE ON GAY MARRIAGE
ABC broke to s daytime lp May 9, 2012, to announce a historic shift: the print of the Uned Stat clarg his personal support for gay marriage.
While the print has nsistently supported civil rights for gay upl — pepperg his ments wh specifics such as hospal visatn, transfer of property and Social Secury benefs — his discsn of marriage has differed. "(But) is my obligatn not only as an elected official a pluralistic society, but also as a Christian, to rema open to the possibily that my unwillgns to support gay marriage is misguid, jt as I nnot claim fallibily my support of abortn rights.
Still, a 2007 Democratic primary bate sponsored by a gay rights group and a gay-oriented ble TV channel, he spoke stead about his support for civil unns wh "all the benefs that are available for a legally sanctned marriage" — but not for legal regnn of "marriage" between same-sex upl.
OBAMA CLAR SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE
He offered an explanatn that would prage his 2012 shift: "I thk that is an issue that I wrtle wh and thk about bee I have a whole host of iends who are gay partnerships. Obama, a nsistent supporter of civil rights for gay upl, neverthels said as early as 2004 and through 2008 that he didn’t support same-sex marriage. What do mean is that we have a set of tradns place that, I thk, need to be prerved, but I also thk we need to make sure that gays and lbians have the same set of basic rights that are place.
"I thk what you're seeg is a profound regnn on the part of the Amerin people that gays and lbians and transgenr persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our s, our iends, our -workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other Amerin, " he said. OCTOBER 2011: "I'm still workg on , " Obama said when asked by ABC's Gee Stephanopoulos whether he would move om supportg civil unns for same-sex upl to supportg gay marriage. But I thk that there's no doubt that as I see iends, fai children of gay upl who are thrivg, you know, that has an impact on how I thk about the issu.
OBAMA'S EVOLUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE
Senate mpaign, addg, “but what I also believe is that we have an obligatn to make sure that gays and lbians have the rights of cizenship that afford them visatns to hospals, that allow them to transfer property to each other, to make sure they’re not discrimated agast on the job. ” He wrote: “And I was remd that is my obligatn, not only as an elected official a pluralistic society but also as a Christian, to rema open to the possibily that my unwillgns to support gay marriage is misguid … that J’ ll to love one another might mand a different ncln. ” By July, the Commanr--Chief formally certifi that the ary is ready for the open service of lbian, gay and bisexual troops.
“That’s why we fend ee speech, and advote for polil prisoners, and nmn the persecutn of women, or relig mori, or people who are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr. Carolyn Kaster / APBy Wednday his views had evolved to the posn that gay and lbian rights advot had urged upon him sce 2004. ”Acrdg to Chigo’s Daily Herald, while Obama was nng for Senate early 2004, he told the newspaper’s edorial board that the gay rights stggle was parable to the 1960s civil rights movement, sayg that his father and mother wouldn't have been allowed to marry some Southern stat.
"So 's not as if I'm not sympathetic to the ia that … polics shouldn't get the way if somethg's right, " Obama told the then he add that gay rights advot had to make strategic cisns and phg for same-sex marriage wasn’t necsarily the bt strategy. “What I also tell my gay and lbian iends is, look, if I was, you know, functng the early '60s tryg to get the Votg Rights Act passed and the Civil Rights Act passed, then I might not lead polilly wh, you know, tryg to reverse anti- miscegenatn laws....
OBAMA'S GAY MARRIAGE NTROVERSY: 'I AM JT NOT VERY GOOD AT BULLSHTG'
But Obama's spokman, Robert Gibbs, said, "Barack Obama is opposed to gay marriage but believ civil unns as a policy, and sendly, our posn on a nstutnal amendment (limg marriage to heterosexuals) is exactly the same posn as Vice Print Dick Cheney's that 's unnecsary.
"When he ran for the Democratic printial nomatn 2007 and 2008, Obama spoke at a fom sponsored by the gay advocy group, the Human Rights Campaign. ”When HRC print Joe Solomone suggted that Obama’s stand sound to gays and lbians like the discreded “separate but equal” doctre that was ed for s to jtify racial discrimatn, Obama reverted to the tactil argument: “if I were advisg the civil rights movement back 1961 about s approach to civil rights, I would have probably said 's ls important that we foc on an anti- miscegenatn law than we foc on a votg rights law and a non- discrimatn and employment law and all the legal rights that are nferred by the state.
”Later the 2008 mpaign Obama returned to his recurrg theme that gay and lbian rights were sometim ed to distract voters om what they really ought to be votg on: enomic issu.
DO OBAMA SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE?
"But once he was elected print Obama disappoted his gay and lbian alli by at first fendg DOMA, a law which he had cricized. "Until Congrs pass legislatn repealg the law, the admistratn will ntue to fend the statute when is challenged the jtice system, " Schmaler and Attorney General Eric Holr changed their posn Febary 2011 when Holr announced the admistratn would not fend the nstutnaly of Sectn 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married upl the two s filed a feral appeals urtBut as of last summer Obama was still disappotg his gay and lbian supporters by repeatg his view that marriage was an issue for each state to ci.
”Obama replied “what you're seeg is a profound regnn on the part of the Amerin people that gays and lbians and transgenr persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our s, our iends, our -workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other Amerin. He’s heard om folks—gay and lbian iends, staff members long-term, lovg relatnships, as well as brave young servicemen and women he got to know through the fight to end Don’t, Ask Don’t Tell. No prev print has endorsed gay marriage… a large gree, Obama's shift on the subject exemplifi the natn's evolvg views.