President Obama Supports Same-Sex Marriage

'It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,' he tells 'Good Morning America.'
By Kara Warner

President Barack Obama
Photo: ABC

President Obama has officially announced his support of same-sex marriage, hot on the heels of the media storm caused by North Carolina's constitutional ban of gay marriage, as well as Vice President Joe Biden's recent comments that he is "absolutely comfortable" with it.

Although at times it seemed Obama was reluctant to publicly announce whether he fully supported the issue, instead supporting civil unions, the POTUS made his stance clear in an interview with "Good Morning America" that will air Thursday morning.

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that 'don't ask, don't tell' is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point 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," Obama told Robin Roberts during the interview.

The president went on to say that he is confident more Americans will become comfortable with the idea and cited his daughters' progressive perspectives on the subject as a primary example.

"It's interesting, some of this is also generational," he said. "You know when I go to college campuses, sometimes I talk to college Republicans who think that I have terrible policies on the economy, on foreign policy but are very clear that when it comes to same-sex equality or, you know, sexual orientation that they believe in equality. They are much more comfortable with it. You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we're talking about their friends and their parents, and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and, frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."

What do you about Obama's support of same-sex marriage? Let us know in the comments!

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