"What I'm saying is that strategically, I think we can get civil unions passed. He described his hesitation to endorse same-sex marriage as strategic and political. I think that marriage, in the minds of a lot of voters, has a religious connotation." I am not a supporter of gay marriage as it has been thrown about, primarily just as a strategic issue. Senate seat in 2004, he told the Windy City Times, "I am a fierce supporter of domestic-partnership and civil-union laws. Later years offered greater clarity - and a shift from 1996. Did he favor legalizing same-sex marriage? "Undecided." Would he support a bill to repeal Illinois legislation prohibiting same-sex marriage? "Undecided." Would he co-sponsor it? "Undecided." Just two years later, on another Outlines questionnaire, Obama wasn’t so sure. He had written on the 1996 questionnaire, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." Tracy Baim, the co-founder and publisher of Outlines, dug up a copy of the questionnaire in 2009, cataloging the president-elect’s shift. In 1996, as he ran for Illinois state Senate, Chicago’s Outlines gay newspaper asked candidates to fill out a questionnaire. Obama was in favor of same-sex marriage before he was against it - and before he was for it again.
POLITICO and others have tracked Obama’s statements on same-sex marriage since 1996. How does the president’s "evolution" on marriage rate? The meter is not intended to pass judgment on their decisions to change their minds.
PolitiFact’s Flip-O-Meter rates politicians' consistency on particular topics from No Flip to Full Flop. On Wednesday, by contrast, he 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 2008, he said: "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. He’s called same-sex marriage unstrategic, against his religious beliefs, and something that should be in the hands of churches rather than government. While the president has consistently supported civil rights for gay couples - peppering his comments with specifics such as hospital visitation, transfer of property and Social Security benefits - his discussion of marriage has differed. "I've been going through an evolution on this issue," President Barack Obama told ABC News. since running for office," Romney said.ABC broke into its daytime lineup May 9, 2012, to announce a historic shift: the president of the United States declaring his personal support for gay marriage. This is a very tender and sensitive topic, as are many social issues, but I have the same view I've had. I know other people have differing views. "My view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman, and that's my own preference. I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman," Romney told reporters in Oklahoma. "I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor and that I expressed many times. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he continues to believe that marriage is a union between a man and a woman but declined to comment directly on the evolution of Mr. The campaign unveiled a 90-second YouTube video for supporters that characterizes Romney's opposition to same-sex marriage and "civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name" as denying rights "for your partner and kids." The ad notes that "even President Bush supported civil unions." Which is why his campaign also has a new ad touting his decision as moving "Forward," while portraying rival Mitt Romney as moving "backward on equality." About 50 percent of Americans now support same-sex marriage, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.
Many of them do as public opinion on the issue has shifted sharply in recent years. Within hours of making the news, his campaign sent an e-mail to supporters asking for donations if they agree with his views. It is not just glitzy parties with fancy actors where the president may be using the issue to raise money. Many in attendance have been vocal advocates for gay rights and after Biden made his comments Sunday, it became harder for the president to say his views were still "evolving." Obama is scheduled to be at actor George Clooney's house in California for a fundraiser that is expected to bring in close to $15 million, the largest single fundraiser in U.S. And this is something that means a lot to them and they care deeply about," he said about a year and a half ago.Īnd tonight Mr. I have friends, I have people who work for me who are in powerful, strong, long-lasting gay or lesbian unions.