Obama still not advocating for gay marriage

Gay rights advocates Sergio Llanos, left, of Queens, and Vito Hernovich, of Manhattan, chant slogans during a rally for same sex marriage outside the LGBT gala fundraiser where President Barack Obama spoke, Thursday, June 23, 2011, in New York.

/ AP Photo

Thanks to Saturday's historic vote in the New York state senate, same-sex marriage is now legal in six states, but the battle to extend it to all American citizens will still be long and difficult. The fight over gay marriage will be played out in both America's courts as well as its political chambers, as politicians have for years used it as fodder to rally support one way or another.

It's been a tricky issue for President Barack Obama, who has largely tiptoed around it, all while openly courting the backing of the gay and lesbian community.

After the New York vote, an Obama spokesman gave the line the president has been using repeatedly when asked about gay marriage, which avoids any direct advocacy.

"The President has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples," White House spokesman Shin Inouye said, according to ABC News. "That's why he has called for repeal of the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' and determined that his Administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts. The states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens. The process in New York worked just as it should."

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That statement is very similar to what Obama said at a sold-out, $1,250-per-head fundraising dinner with prominent gay and lesbian activists in New York last week, the Associated Press reports. To boil it down, Obama is basically saying he supports the rights of gay people, while avoiding answering how he feels about gay marriage specifically by shifting the responsibility for it to "the states."

How long he can keep it up is anyone's guess, but the president and his party hold a natural advantage in the passionate and often deep-pocketed gay community over any Republican in the 2012 election, as Republicans as a whole have been very consistent in their opposition to allowing same-sex marriage.

While it was Democratic President Bill Clinton who signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law, Republicans have long been its most vocal supporters. The close vote on gay marriage in the New York state senate saw a few Republicans flip in favor of it at the last second, but only one Democrat voted "nay." When the Maryland senate voted on gay marriage earlier this year (an effort that eventually stalled in the House of Delegates there), only one Republican voted in favor of it, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Still, Obama's hesitancy to embrace the issue in a clear way could hurt him and his party, and many gay activists have been grumbling over the president's uncertain stance.

Michelangelo Signorile, a prominent New York journalist, famous for outing celebrities in the 1990s, told Politico that Obama's obtuse stance on gay marriage - especially in the light of recent strides - may be hurting his standing in the community. Signorile pointed to Laura Bush's open support of gay marriage as an example of how the president could be hurting himself politically.

"A Democratic president should be way ahead on this issue," Signorile told POLITICO. "He has to go all the way."

[homophobe101]

America decides to allow the pretend game of gay marriage. While we are at it, let's call apples oranges and potatoes grapes. We could even pretend that the moon is the sun and an inch is a mile.

[homophobe101]

If you think gays are normal, talk to a doctor about how many physical problems one has after years of anal sex. Yipes, it's so gross.

[homophobe101]

Try standing in line at Disney World behind a couple of men french kissing in front of your children. In fact, try going all over the park and witnessing this because the gays decided to have gay day at Disney World. It's sickening, it was totally disgusting.

[greenlantern1]

While all of this is going on, nobody seems to be concerned about FLDS members following the lead of Warren Jeffs.
Clifford Spencer

[sportinlife]

Well, most working people don't particularly care about same-sex marriage one way or the other. But the fact that Obama won't fight for fairness for gay and lesbian people sort of reminds working people that he won't fight for fairness for them either. Or anyone else.

He's an intelligent, competent, reasonable person--which we can't take for granted in this age of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann--but he is not a fighter, nor a leader.

[noloyalisti]

The Globalization movement to enrich a few people at the expense of the rest of us has moved the country extremely to the right. Thus you have moderate Republicons like Obama in office. And the filthy elite have their stupid minions calling him Marxist, progressive, liberal, etc.

All his actions show he is another puppet for the Republicon Corporation and the United Corporate States of America.

[ajvw]

"Obama still not advocating for gay marriage"

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Sitting on the fence voting present again.

[magnumdr]

Obama better not let gays get married. This is a slap in the face for the real people that get married and raise families. Maybe the sodomey laws had better be inforced again. Hugh Heffner is ok with sodomey as long as it dont happen to him.

[pleiadies1]

magnumdr, if you are married, or wish to get married one day, would that be "a slap in the face" to LGBT people or would it be because you actually love someone? Or would they just not give a damn? What you do with your life is your concern; keep your nose out of other people's. Unless of course you'd happily live alone and celibate for the rest of your life rather than upset other folks.... no? Thought not.

[piller69]

I am gay as long as I can remember. I have been married to a nice man for 12 years in canada live in florida. I am proud of president Obama he has been the best president we have ever had I will vote for him agian!!!!2012

[homophobe101]

LOL, you mean you are pretending to be married.

[nativeamericancitizen]

Breaking News! Of unsound mind and in bad conscience 33 cursed men and women in the New York State Senate legislate homosexual immorality/sin, and pass a law to pervert and defile God's sacred marriage covenant, thus launching a direct assault on thousands of years of history and the sacred rites, traditions and principles of devout Christians wordlwide. The new unjust law will punish millions of Christians and other religious points of view as their sacred rites, principles and traditions are desecrated, thus
violating their 1st amendment right to freely exercise their religion without government interference, harassment and discrimination! All predicated on the homosexual propaganda disguised as science lie, that some men and women are born with a gay gene that determines sexual orientation. It's evident to some that mankind is truly entering a new dark age/period in human history, which will without doubt hasten the return of Jesus the Christ to judge both the living and the dead. And God will not judge man based on corrupt, perverted laws, constitutions, fraudulent research disguised as science, referendums, public opinion polls or what society says is normal or common at the time, but rather God will judge man according to his unchanging, non evolving holy commands one of which says homosexuality is a grave sin and an abomination and the wages of sin are eternal death. Repent if you are able, the end is very, very, very near!

[ki_vero]

In which of the ten commandments does it say homosexuality is a sin? Thats right it wasnt in the ten commandments.