“It’s important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” he said. The first turning point came as Obama signed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in December 2010.īut the climactic moment was when, during an interview on May 9 of this year, Obama endorsed same-sex marriage. “It felt like he was taking a long time to be that ‘fierce advocate’ he promised to be.” “I was among his most vocal critics,” said David Badash, a gay rights activist and founder of The New Civil Rights Movement, a website for LGBT-related news.
Most galling of all was the president’s perceived coyness on gay marriage (his position was “evolving”, he cryptically stated). Next, he was seen as dragging his feet in ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military. 54% of Americans in favour of same-sex marriageįirst, Obama chose socially conservative pastor Rick Warren to recite a prayer at his inauguration. Same-sex marriage legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington DC 4.7% of Miami/Miami Beach/ Fort Lauderdale residents identify as LGBT 79.4% of LGBT Americans voted for Obama in 2008 92.5% of gay men voted in 2004 election
