ATLANTA — President Barack Obama announced he is in support of gay marriage.
The announcement reverses his longstanding opposition amid growing pressure from the Democratic base and even his own vice president.
In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, the president said his thoughts on gay marriage have been evolving throughout his presidency.
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, 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 told Roberts, in an interview to appear on ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday.
The president has already supported a number of initiatives backed by gays, including an end to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and a decision not to defend in court a federal law that was designed as an alternative to gay marriage.
Obama said first lady Michelle Obama also was involved in his decision and joins him in supporting gay marriage.
"In the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people," he said.
Acknowledging that his support for same-sex marriage may rankle religious conservatives, Obama said he thinks about his faith in part through the prism of the Golden Rule — treating others the way you would want to be treated.
"That's what we try to impart to our kids and that's what motivates me as president and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I'll be as a dad and a husband and hopefully the better I'll be as president," Obama said.
Atlantans react to president’s announcement
Daniel Phillips has a little bigger smile than normal as he walked along 10th Street Wednesday after hearing of the president’s announcement
“It's awesome. It's a good thing to actually have, somebody who actually understands we have a future,” Phillips said.
While Phillips said he has no plans to marry a partner at this point, he likes the idea the option is there.
“The potential to actually have the opportunity is a great thing. A lot of people don't know there are 11,000 different rights that are given to marriages,” Phillips said.
For Les Kurkendaal and others who have been fighting for this right for years, President Obama’s announcement was welcome news.
“Oh, I think that is amazing… and it's about time,” Kurkendaal said. “I think it's going to be a good thing for the gay community. Now that we know we have Obama on our side, I think we are going to rally around him full force.”
On the other side of the spectrum is the Faith and Freedom Coaltion. Conservative Ralph Reed issued a statement saying, "President Obama chose the week he launched his re-election campaign to flip-flop on same-sex marriage. This is an unanticipated gift to the Romney campaign."
Just two days ago, the coalition’s executive director Gary Marx told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston he thought the president would remain on their side.
“I think we're in the mainstream of where American people are and that's where President Obama continues to be, despite being bullied, I think by Secretary Duncan and Vice President Biden,” Marx said.
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Ministers divided over gay marriage
Channel 2's Tony Thomas visited two black churches Wednesday and heard two vastly different opinions about President Obama's statements in support of gay marriage.
One minister said the president has backbone; the other told his congregation he's disappointed.
"It's not about homosexual bashing. It's protecting the first institution and standing for what is right and godly," Bishop William Sheals of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church told Thomas as the subject came up at Wednesday night's Bible study.
The Gwinnett County church is 15,000 members strong.
After the study, Sheals told Thomas he's disappointed by the president's announcement.
"I disagree not on political reasons but biblical reasons," Sheals said. "It is not anti-gay this or anti-person this. It is pro-marriage. It is a 3,000-year-old institution."
A different message was being told at a DeKalb County church.
"I just have to thank God for my president, Barack Obama," Dr. Kenneth Samuel of the Victory for the World church told his congregation.
From the pulpit, Samuel said the gay issue has been used to divide the black community too long
"Even though he's going to face a lot of heat from conservative right wing Christians, and even some black clergy, I'm sorry, it's the truth," Samuel said.
Now that the president has taken his stance, next comes the political impact, especially in the South.
"I think it makes it's a lot harder for Barack Obama to carry Georgia. You have a tremendous number of very religious people in Georgia, social conservatives, religious conservatives," said political expert Merle Black from Emory University.
Civil Rights leaders support president
Late Wednesday afternoon, Rep. John Lewis released a statement praising the president's decision.
“In President Obama's interview with Robin Roberts, he described the kind of steps many Americans have taken on the issue of same sex marriage. Once people begin to see the similarities between themselves and others, instead of focusing on differences, they come to recognize that equality is essentially a matter of human rights and human dignity.
"The President's growth reflects the growth of many Americans on this issue. I am glad to see more Americans, including President Obama, empathize with the struggles of same sex couples and express willingness in state after state to give their unions the same legal rights as other married couples,” Lewis said.
Atlanta Civil Rights icon, The Rev. Joseph Lowery, said the president did the right thing.
"The president has always said he believes in equal rights. You can't believe in equal rights for some people. That's an oxymoron."
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Contention over gay marriage
Some top aides argued that gay marriage is toxic at the ballot box in battleground states like North Carolina and Virginia because, as Tuesday's vote proved, the issue remains a reliable way to fire up rank-and-file Republicans. It also could open Obama up to Republican criticism that he was taking his eye off the economy, voters' No. 1 issue.
Other Democratic supporters claim Obama could energize huge swaths of the party, including young people, by voicing his support for gay marriage before November. He also could appeal to independent voters, many of whom back gay marriage, and he could create an area of clear contrast between himself and his Republican rival as he argues that he's delivered on the change he promised four years ago.
On Tuesday, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, told Obama to "man up" and take a position on gay marriage.
Public opinion on gay marriage has shifted in recent years, with most polls now finding the public evenly split, rather than opposed.
A Gallup poll released this week found 50 percent of all adults in favor of legal recognition of same-sex marriages, marking the second time that poll has found support for legal gay marriage at 50 percent or higher. Majorities of Democrats (65 percent) and independents (57 percent) supported such recognition, while most Republicans (74 percent) said same sex marriages should not be legal.
Six states — all in the Northeast except Iowa — and the District of Columbia allow same sex marriages. In addition, two other states have laws that are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums.
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