Obama out of the closet on same-sex marriage
A national debate on what many consider the last civil rights movement is heating up in the US after President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same sex marriage on Wednesday in the White House.
"I've just concluded, 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," Mr Obama said in an interview with ABC News.
Personal opinion
The interview was apparently hastily arranged as pressure grew on the president to clarify his position after Vice President Joe Biden ignited the debate with a remark that he “was comfortable” with gay marriage at the weekend. The president stressed he was expressing a personal opinion, reached after a period of soul-searching. He spoke to friends and family, including his own daughters.
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I talked to friends, and family and neighbours, when I think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed, monogamous relations, same-sex relations, who are raising kids together, when I think of the soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors who out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained even now though 'don't ask, don't tell' has gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage."
Human Rights Watch praises president
But his comments, personal opinion or not, sent seismic waves through pre-election politics and sparked immediate speculation as to whether he had damaged his chances of winning a second term in November.
Rights group Human Rights Watch has praised the president for his courage in publicly endorsing same sex marriage. Boris Dittrich, a former Dutch MP and ex-leader of the D66 Democrats party, said Obama’s words were inspiring and offered hope to sexual minorities across the world.
Dittrich, one of the first openly gay MPs in the Netherlands, was appointed Advocacy Director of a gay rights programme for the New York based Human Rights Watch in 2007.
Political gamble
Mr Obama took a political gamble by jumping into this debate, reluctantly or not. The day before he announced his position, North Carolina — a critical state for Mr Obama and the site of the Democratic convention this summer — became the 31st state to approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
The issue remains highly contentious among African Americans and Hispanics, two groups central to Barak Obama’s success. Some political analysts feel Obama could face a backlash from religious black and Latino voters. Others feel the move will help the president garner support among voters who are disappointed in his backtracking on other issues.
Romney pushed into debate
President Obama’s comments have also led Mitt Romney, the probable Republican presidential candidate, onto tricky political ground as opinion polls indicate that more Americans are for same-sex marriage than against it. Romney was quick to proclaim his opposition to same-sex marriage after the president spoke.
"I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman," Romney said Wednesday. "I know other people have differing views, and this is a tender and sensitive topic."
Romney was governor of Massachusetts when it became the first state to legalise same-sex marriage in 2003. He fought the state’s Supreme Court to block its implementation.
“On my watch, we fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage."
It is just possible that Obama has pulled off a political master-stroke and decided to ride changing attitudes at just the right moment.
(jn/imm)