Did obama campaign in favor of gay marriage

Obama was in favor of same-sex marriage before he was against it — and before he was for it again. Inas he ran for Illinois state Senate, Chicago’s Outlines gay newspaper asked. In the beginning President Obama approached the issue of gay marriage cautiously. He had long supported civil unions. He had worked to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and he'd come out against the.

News Barack Obama made history by publicly supporting same-sex marriages 12 years ago today Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images. Later in the campaign Obama returned to his recurring theme that gay and lesbian rights were sometimes used to distract voters from what they really ought to be voting on: economic issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Barack Obama, the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions on gay rights punctuate an evolution as president on the subject of same-sex marriage — a personal journey that has taken him from opposition to ambivalence to enthusiastic support.

Gay donors have plenty of motivation to support Obama, with or without a gay-marriage endorsement. In line with our values and policieseach Brookings publication represents the sole views of its author s. Swing voters in battleground states are more likely to be turned off than on, either because they disagree as many black voters do, for example or because they think the election should be about something else.

Skip to Content. The Brookings Institution is committed to quality, campaign, and impact. It is also now the stated position of one of the two major political parties only 16 years after President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, signed the anti-gay-marriage Defense of Marriage Act. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

This is the latest wedge issue to divide the Democratic Party. Locally led development in a time of disruption. By Wednesday his views had evolved to the position that gay and lesbian rights advocates had urged upon him since And, you know, my interest is to avoid playing on their court on this issue," he said. Latest Stories Gay. Though gay favors have not achieved marriage legal equality, gay marriage, obama an issue, has achieved full political equality.

Sections U. Obama voted against moving ahead with the proposed amendment. Legal experts weigh in on the implications of the Supreme Court term did K education. He said, "I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Governance Studies. NBC News Logo. Jonathan Rauch. Courts may not go by poll results, but they do like to stay within the mainstream. They vote on issues like gay marriage. Rick Santorum and other GOP conservatives pushed for an amendment to the Constitution to clarify that there was no fundamental constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.

But Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said, "Barack Obama is opposed to gay marriage but believes in civil unions as a policy, and secondly, our position on a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexuals is exactly the same position as Vice President Dick Cheney's in that it's unnecessary.

Who was president when gay marriage became legal

With his switch from ambivalence to advocacy, Obama is sending a signal to the courts that the country is ready for gay marriage, giving them more cover to uphold it. That's my Christian ethos. Perera July 15,