Timeline of Obamafs gay marriage views
By — Lucy Shackelford and Madonna Lebling
How Obamafs stance has changed
A look back at President Obamafs evolving views on gay marriage:
MARCH 7, 2004
In answer to questions from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when he was
an Illinois state senator: gI support civil unions to guarantee basic
rights to same-sex couples. I do not believe that federal recognition of
same-sex marriage is practical because of strong political and religious
resistance. I believe that this matter is best left to the states.h
SEPT. 25, 2004
During a taping of WBBM-AMfs gAt Issueh: gIfm a Christian.
And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my
political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious
beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a
woman.h
APRIL 2, 2008
From an MSNBC gHardball with Chris Matthewsh interview:
gYou know, Ifm not in favor of gay marriage, but Ifm in favor of a very strong
civil union. Right now states, even where youfve got civil unions, still arenft
getting the same benefits at the federal level. So the federal government just
doesnft recognize them. And thatfs about 1,200 laws, rights and benefits that
are not being given to same-sex couples. I think itfs very important that those
laws apply equally.h
JAN. 28, 2010
During a town hall meeting at the University of Tampa:
gLook, as I said last night, my belief is, is that a basic principle in our
Constitution is that if youfre obeying the law, if youfre following the rules,
that you should be treated the same, regardless of who you are. I think that
principle applies to gay and lesbian couples. So at the federal level, one of
the things that wefre trying to do is to make sure that partnerships are
recognized for purposes of benefits so that hospital visitation, for example, is
something that is permitted, that Social Security benefits or pension benefits
or others, that same-sex couples are recognized in all those circumstances.h
DEC. 22, 2010
During a news conference in the White House: gNow, with
respect to the issue of whether gays and lesbians should be able to get married,
Ifve spoken about this recently. As Ifve said, you know, my feelings about this
are constantly evolving. I struggle with this.
I have friends, I have people who work for me who are in powerful, strong,
long-lasting gay or lesbian unions, and they are extraordinary people, and this
is something that means a lot to them and they care deeply about.
At this point, what Ifve said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union
that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples
have. And I think — and I think thatfs the right thing to do.
But I recognize that, from their perspective, it is not enough. And I think
this is something that wefre going to continue to debate, and I personally am
going to continue to wrestle with going forward.h
MAY 9, 2012
From an ABC News interview with Robin Roberts: gIfve 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.h
— Lucy Shackelford
and Madonna Lebling
© The Washington Post Company