You Like Us, You Really Like Us

First with his invitation to Donnie McClurkin for gospel concert tour to gather votes in South Carolina, and then with his selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, it seems as though Obama has taken LGBT folks on an emotional rollercoaster (5 points if you can guess made that song lol:) throughout his campaign and post-election decisions.

However, an article in Chicago gay mag The Windy Times has revealed that Obama's current position on gay marriage wasn't always the same:

"Obama’s answer to the 1996 Outlines question was very clear: “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.” There was no use of “civil unions,” no compromise whatsoever. The IMPACT marriage question was a bit less
direct.

It asked if Obama would support a Marriage Resolution being considered at the time, which read in part “Because marriage is a basic human right and an individual personal choice, RESOLVED, the state should not interfere with same-gender couples who [choose] to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of civil marriage.” Obama
responded: “I would support such a resolution.”

I figured as much. He is a member of the United Church of Christ, probably one of the most gay-friendly and inclusive churches in the country, after all. Obama's a smart politician, and most likely knew that declaring support for gay marriage instead civil union might cost him the presidency. Hopefully Obama's position will 'evolve' back towards full marriage equality during his term.