(CNN and LGBT Weekly) – President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue in which Americans are evenly split.
“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 said in an interview with ABC News.
A Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated 50 percent of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with 48% saying such marriages should not be legal.
But a CNN/ORC poll, taken in late March, indicated policies toward gays and lesbians were tied for last in the most-important issues facing the country.
Obama was “disappointed” by Tuesday’s vote on the issue in North Carolina, which he described as discriminatory against gays and lesbians, a spokesman said earlier Wednesday.
North Carolina voted to implement a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was already prohibited by state law.
The president said he supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own, ABC News reported.
San Diego LGBT Weekly publisher and former 2008 Obama for America campaign co-chair for LGBT issues, Stampp Corbin said he is proud the president announced his evolution on the subject.
“Today is an historic moment in the history of the United States; President Obama announced his support of same- sex marriage,” Corbin said in a written statement provided to the media shortly after Obama’s announcement. “In 2007, when I decided to support candidate Barack Obama, I was attracted by his honesty and truth of character. During the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama announced his support for civil unions. Later, the president said his position was evolving. President Obama has been honest and truthful about his position from the beginning.”
Obama said his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. “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.”
Obama spoke Wednesday with ABC’s Robin Roberts. The interview will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America Thursday. Excerpts were to air Wednesday evening on World News With Diane Sawyer.
The president’s stance will be among many key differences with Romney, but it is not expected to be a key talking point in his campaign.
In comments Wednesday to CNN Denver affiliate KDVR, presidential candidate Mitt Romney reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage.
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