Obama’s next moves on marriage

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:12:00 +0000

President Obama's support for same-sex marriage is a huge victory for the gay rights movement, but it's also a qualified one. Obama said he still supports the right of states to deny couples same-sex marriage rights, but "personally," he thinks that's wrong. In addition to making Obama's stance on gay rights a bit less incoherent — how much sense did it make for him to oppose both gay-marriage and the gay-marriage ban in North Carolina, which passed on Tuesday? — the president's much-anticipated "evolution" opens the door for him to be a more fierce advocate for gay rights.

I don't mean to downplay the importance of having the president support marriage equality. It's a decisive blow in the culture war. For years, the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, has been able to deflect criticism by pointing out that Obama shared its views.

"Four years ago in California, Prop. 8 supporters had a flyer that they passed out saying Obama opposed same-sex marriage," says John Lewis, legal director for Equality USA, a gay-rights group. "They used his equivocation quite effectively against us. They can’t do that anymore."

Salon.com > Gabriel Arana

Obama’s next moves on marriage