Obama opposes Minnesota’s proposed anti-marriage equality measure
President Obama’s campaign group in Minnesota has issued a statement today, saying they will oppose the state’s proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as strictly that between one man and one woman.
“While the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples,” Kristen Sosanie, spokeswoman for Obama’s Minnesota campaign, said in a statement. “That’s what the Minnesota ballot initiative would do — it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples — and that’s why the President does not support it.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the President’s campaign has issued such a statement. In March, the campaign in North Carolina released a similarly-worded statement opposing the state’s version of a proposition to enact a constitutional amendment that would forbid same-sex couples from marrying.
It should be noted that both Minnesota and North Carolina currently outlaw marriages for same-sex couples. However, the North Carolina amendment proposes to outlaw civil unions and domestic partnerships as well.
Mr Obama has said that his views on “gay marriage are still evolving,” though hitherto he has opposed equal marriages. That said, his administration no longer defends the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which does define marriage as the exclusive union between one man and one woman at a federal level. Currently, there are anti-DOMA challenges in New York and Massachusetts.
