Obama Says NY Gay Marriage a 'Good Thing'
President Obama was pressed again on Wednesday about his stance on same-sex marriage. And again, the president stopped short of endorsing it.
While saying New York’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage is a “good thing,” Obama is still disappointing homosexual marriage proponents by not giving the issue his complete blessing.
“What I’ve seen happen over the last several years and what happened in New York last week, I think, was a good thing,” Obama said during a press conference that centered on the budget and deficit issues.
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Obama also said the New York debate was emotional and having such a debate and talking through such issues was in the best interest of citizens. “I think that’s how things should work,” he added.
Pro-traditional marriage activists counter such arguments, saying that the best way to handle issues such as homosexual marriage is to allow citizens to express their views at the ballot box.
“We think once voters have access to the pros and cons of same-sex marriage, the vast majority of citizens will still feel marriage should be between one man and one woman,” said Chuck Darnell of Minnesota Family Council. “It’s certainly an issue that will be heavily debated over the next year and a half in our state.”
A nationwide survey sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies in mid-May interviewed 1,500 adults and asked if they agreed with the following statement, “I believe marriage should be defined ONLY as a union between one man and one woman.”
More than half (53 percent) of those surveyed strongly agreed with the statement and only 35 percent disagreed.
When pressed on the issue of homosexual marriage by Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler, Obama responded by saying, “I’m not going to make news on that today. Good try though.”
As Obama attended a fundraiser in New York City on the eve of the state senate’s vote to pass same-sex marriage last week, homosexual activists who were pressing him to make stronger statements in support of same-sex marriage heckled him.
So why is the president so reluctant to fully support homosexual marriage?
“Because he’s running for a second term,” said Brian Evans, a southeastern political consultant. “Obama knows the subject of same-sex marriage is still very touchy in the black community. Many black pastors resent the comparison the homosexual community makes to the struggles of the civil rights movement. The president needs to walk a very fine line here and I don’t think he’s going to budge for a while.”
