When did obama start supporting gay marriage

Just days before Obama’s endorsement, then-Vice President Joe Biden expressed his support for same-sex marriage on NBC’s Meet the Press. At this point, what I've said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples have," Obama said in response to a question from ABC's Jake Tapper at a White House press conference.

Our ruling Obama, a consistent supporter of civil rights for gay couples, nevertheless said as early as and through that he didn’t support same-sex marriage. What it does mean is that we have a set of traditions in place that, I think, need to be preserved, but I also think we need to make sure that gays and lesbians have the same set of basic rights that are in place.

I struggle with this. And I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships. OCTOBER " What I believe is that marriage is between a man and a woman … What I believe, in my faith, is that a man and a woman, when they get married, are performing something before God, and it's not simply the two persons who are meeting," then-U.

All rights reserved. The country is evolving on this, and he is evolving on it," Pfeiffer told progressive activists at the Net Roots Nation conference. It's not going to be perfectly smooth, and it turns out that the president - I've discovered since I've been in this office - can't dictate precisely how this process moves.

President Obama, June 26, Since taking office, President Obama and his Administration have made historic strides to expand opportunities and advance equality and justice for all Americans, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Americans.

President Obama will sit down with "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts today at the White House for a wide-ranging interview, his first since Vice President Joe Biden publicly voiced his support for same-sex marriage and North Carolina voters imposed a new ban on all same-sex unions.

TIMELINE Tracking Barack Obama

JUNE " The president has never favored same-sex marriage. He is against it. OCTOBER "I'm still working on it," Obama said when asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos whether he would move from supporting civil unions for same-sex couples to supporting gay marriage.

But I think that there's no doubt that as I see friends, families children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that has an impact on how I think about these issues.

Obama endorses gay marriage

He also says that he supports affirmative action for gays and lesbians. OCTOBER " I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage," President Obama said during an interview with liberal bloggers.

In another questionnaire for Chicago LGBT newspaper Outlines, Obama says he supports same-sex marriage. JUNE " I think it's important for us to work through these issues because each community is going to be different, each state is going to be different," Obama said when asked during a White House news conference about New York becoming the latest state to legalize same-sex marriage.

He had written that he. Asked Tuesday whether Obama was prepared to opine on the debate, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "I can tell you that I'm sure it is the case that he will be asked again at some point when he gives interviews or press conferences about this issue, and I'll leave it to him to describe his personal views.

Here's a look back at the various positions he has held on the issue: from appearing to support the unions as a young state senate candidate, opposing them outright as a matter of faith into suggesting a shift in line with public opinion:.