Tag: gay marriage

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President Obama on The View

President Barack Obama, appearing on ABC’s “The View,” spoke about his position on gay marriage and how he views the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.

“Congress is clearly on notice that I think it’s a bad idea,” Obama said regarding DOMA during “The View” interview, which was recorded Monday morning.

Later in the day, at a New York City fundraising event hosted by Ricky Martin, Obama said he believes marriage equality “strengthens families,” and said the 2012 election would be about values — including “repealing DOMA.”

It’s been said that this election is going to be about values, and I absolutely agree. It’s about the economic values we have, about the values that I believe are what makes America so special — the idea that everybody gets a fair shot, everybody does their fair share, everybody plays by the same set of rules.
So everything we do — from Wall Street reform, making sure that banks aren’t taking risks with other people’s money that taxpayers may have to end up bailing out later, to repealing DOMA, to getting the DREAM Act passed, to investing in our schools, to rebuilding manufacturing in America — all of these things are designed to make sure that we’re restoring middle-class security for all those folks out there that are struggling for their small portion of the American Dream.

During the The View, Elizabeth Hasselbeck questioned President Obama about whether there were any real differences between the President’s position and Mitt Romney. He answered:

More at LGBTQNation

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Jay Z supports President Obama and marriage equality

Jay-Z has thrown his support behind President Obama’s marriage equality stance, CNN Political Ticker reports.

In a CNN interview, the hip-hop mogul said of the issue:

“I’ve always thought it as something that was still holding the country back,” Jay Z told Poppy. “What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”

When asked if he is worried that the endorsement will cost President Obama votes, Jay Z issues an eloquent response.  “I think it’s the right thing to do, so whether it costs him votes or not…again, it’s not about votes. It’s about people. It’s the right thing to do as a human being.”
(source)

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Governor of Rhode Island issues executive order recognizing same-sex marriages performed out-of-state

Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed an executive order today that allows Rhode Island to recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state.

Reports the AP:

The executive order is expected to have many real-world implications. Same-sex spouses of state employees and anyone covered by an insurance company regulated in Rhode Island will be entitled to health and life insurance benefits, gay rights advocates say.
Both partners in a same-sex couple will be able to list their names as parents on a child’s birth certificate, and same-sex couples will be entitled to sales tax exemptions on the transfer of property including vehicles.

Rhode Island has been the one state in New England to drag it’s feet to actually legalizing same-sex marriage.

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Poll: 62% of Americans support same-sex unions

A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows that 62 percent of Americans support recognizing same-sex relationships via either full marriage equality or civil unions. That number jumped to 70 percent when asked of those aged 18-44 across parties. Independent voters back marriage equality and civil unions by a robust 62 percent.

A Gallup poll released late last week also showed that a considerable majority of independents strongly backed President Obama’s support for marriage equality.

Despite the growing public support for marriage equality, Mitt Romney continues to buck the will of the majority of Americans – supporting neither marriage equality nor civil unions. That position puts him further to the right on LGBT equality than even former President George W. Bush, who did support civil unions.

Learn more about Mitt Romney’s anti-LGBT positions.

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GOP Pollster to GOP: “rethink your stance on gay marriage”

 Former President George W. Bush’s pollster for his 2004 re-election, Jan van Lohuizen, has put out a memo to Republican operatives suggesting a shift in the way the GOP discusses same-sex marriage.

It notes what recent same-sex marriage surveys have found, which is a change in public support “at an accelerated rate with no sign of slowing down.”

It adds, “The increase in support is taking place among all partisan groups. While more Democrats support gay marriage than Republicans, support levels among Republicans are increasing over time.  The same is true of age: younger people support same sex marriage more often than older people, but the trends show that all age groups are rethinking their position.”

Here’s a transcript of the memo:

In view of this week’s news on the same sex marriage issue, here is a summary of recent survey findings on same sex marriage:

1. Support for same sex marriage has been growing and in the last few years support has grown at an accelerated rate with no sign of slowing down. A review of public polling shows that up to 2009 support for gay marriage increased at a rate of 1% a year. Starting in 2010 the change in the level of support accelerated to 5% a year. The most recent public polling shows supporters of gay marriage outnumber opponents by a margin of roughly 10% (for instance: NBC / WSJ poll in February / March: support 49%, oppose 40%).

2. The increase in support is taking place among all partisan groups. While more Democrats support gay marriage than Republicans, support levels among Republicans are increasing over time. The same is true of age: younger people support same sex marriage more often than older people, but the trends show that all age groups are rethinking their position.

3. Polling conducted among Republicans show that majorities of Republicans and Republican leaning voters support extending basic legal protections to gays and lesbians. These include majority Republican support for:

a. Protecting gays and lesbians against being fired for reasons of sexual orientation
b. Protections against bullying and harassment
c. Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
d. Right to visit partners in hospitals
e. Protecting partners against loss of home in case of severe medical emergencies or death
f. Legal protection in some form for gay couples whether it be same sex marriage or domestic partnership (only 29% of Republicans oppose legal recognition in any form).

Recommendation: A statement reflecting recent developments on this issue along the following lines:
“People who believe in equality under the law as a fundamental principle, as I do, will agree that this principle extends to gay and lesbian couples; gay and lesbian couples should not face discrimination and their relationship should be protected under the law. People who disagree on the fundamental nature of marriage can agree, at the same time, that gays and lesbians should receive essential rights and protections such as hospital visitation, adoption rights, and health and death benefits.”

Other thoughts / Q&A: Follow up to questions about affirmative action:
“This is not about giving anyone extra protections or privileges, this is about making sure that everyone – regardless of sexual orientation – is provided the same protections against discrimination that you and I enjoy.”

Why public attitudes might be changing:
“As more people have become aware of friends and family members who are gay, attitudes have begun to shift at an accelerated pace. This is not about a generational shift in attitudes, this is about people changing their thinking as they recognize their friends and family members who are gay or lesbian.”

Conservative fundamentals:
“As people who promote personal responsibility, family values, commitment and stability, and emphasize freedom and limited government we have to recognize that freedom means freedom for everyone. This includes the freedom to decide how you live and to enter into relationships of your choosing, the freedom to live without excessive interference of the regulatory force of government.

(source)

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Gallup poll results on President Obama’s support of gay marriage

From Gallup: A majority of Americans, 60%, say President Barack Obama’s newly announced support for same-sex marriage will make no difference to their vote. Twice as many say it will make them less likely to vote for Obama as say more likely, though roughly half of the “less likely” group are Republicans who probably would not support Obama anyway.

• 13% say the President’s support for marriage equality makes them more likely to vote for him
• 26% say the President’s support for marriage equality makes them less likely to vote for him
• 60% say he President’s support for marriage equality makes no difference in how they plan to vote

The results are based on a May 10 USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in response to Obama’s May 9 announcement that he supports legalizing gay marriage. Obama is the first president to publicly support gay marriage while in office.

The poll finds 51% of Americans approving of his position, essentially matching the 50% of Americans who support gay marriage in general, and similar to his 49% overall job approval rating.