One small step for POTUS

Last week was unusual in politics, with a politician making a clear statement about their position on what to some is considered a controversial topic. Barack ‘Big O’ Obama clarified what he had previously described as his evolving attitudes to same-sex marriage, finally saying in an interview on US channel ABC:

“It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

With this action Obama has become the first sitting US president to support gay marriage and has received a large amount of praise from America’s gay community. While Obama has historically been reticent on his opinion on gay marriage, some thought that the potential political fallout might have caused him to stay his hand. However with his work on repealing the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy in 2011 he has been seen by many as friendly to the notion of gay marriage, if not an open supporter. However Obama has always expressed that his Christian belief has made him difficult to instantly accept the concept of gay marriage, although he revealed last week that his wife had a hand in his final acceptance. The President has clarified that this is his personal view, not a federal position and he will not interfere with how the states choose to form their legislation.

Unlike the assumed impulsive leap, this viewpoint seems to have developed slowly, with his first step being removing the HIV travel ban, a move that had been initiated by the outgoing George W. Bush. Then as well as repealing the DADT Act, he and several senior officials declared that the Defense of Marriage Act (which defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman) was unconstitutional and pressured the Justice Department to stop defending said law.

However, some people believe that Obama’s decision to publicly show his support for same-sex marriage was purely a calculated political move. Since his Vice President Joe Biden has announced his own support for same-sex marriages earlier in the week, so a few people have suggested that Obama was forced to come up with a public response, lest he lose favour in the upcoming elections. Others have remarked that the Obama 2012 Presidential campaign is running with less energy than the 2008 campaign due what may seem as a disappointing track record as President compared to the hopes stirred by is previous image as a fresh –faced senator and bringer of change. It is implied that by supporting gay marriage the Obama campaign might attract more of the youth vote which gave it the momentum that carried it to the White House, especially since it is a subject, which is supported much more by the younger generations than the more politically static older generations.

The Obama campaign denies all accusations of political manoeuvring, insisting that the President had in fact made his decision some time ago and had planned to express his views to the public closer to the election, however they admitted that they felt the episode with Joe Biden and the resulting media pressure had forced their hand.

While Obama’s thoughts on same-sex marriage are personal, as the President of the United States his opinions do carry serious weight both domestically and internationally. In the United States gay marriage laws are decided on a state-by-state basis, with 6 states along with the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) currently have laws which allow same-sex marriage while other state laws range from accepting civil unions to a complete. Most recently the state of North Carolina approved an amendment to their constitution (by a majority of 22% of votes) that banned same-sex marriages and other unions, adding to their statutory ban.

As one politician steps forward, it seems another steps back. Disappointment struck the UK’s gay community when in the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords there was no mention of the expected bill on same-sex marriage. It seems while David Cameron is in favour of legalising gay-marriage, after a beating in local elections a fortnight ago and firm dissention from the Tory grassroots, his government has decided to put the issue on the backburner along with the House of Lords reform, preferring to focus on less controversial topics.