THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama on Wednesday night risked incurring the electoral wrath of America’s socially conservative heartlands by announcing that he now favours legalising gay marriage across the US.
Speaking hours after North Carolina became the 30th state in the country to explicitly outlaw same-sex marriage, Mr Obama told a specially-convened interview that “personally” he supported them.
“It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” he told ABC News. His wife, Michelle, “feels the same way that I do,” he added.
Mr Obama said his view had been affected by the realisation that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, would be bemused at the notion that the same-sex parents of friends “would be treated differently”.
“It doesn’t make sense to them,” he said. “Frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.” He also cited the sacrifices of gay troops and said he had White House staff who were “incredibly committed” to their gay partners.
The announcement settled what the President had described as an “evolving” position on one of the most divisive issues in American society. Previously he supported only legal civil unions for homosexuals.
It came three days after Vice President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages, sending the White House scrambling to maintain their delicately balanced stance. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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