Has Obama changed his mind on gay marriage?

The president officially supports same-sex civil unions, but not gay marriage. So why is his administration abandoning the federal gay-marriage ban?

In 2009 activists urged Obama to live up to campaign promises made to the LGBT community; the administration announced yesterday it will no longer defend the federal gay-marriage ban in court
(Image credit: Getty)

President Obama shook up the debate on gay marriage Wednesday when his Justice Department announced that it will no longer defend a key part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. The administration will still enforce the federal ban on gay marriage, until Congress acts or the courts offer a "definitive verdict." But declaring that he thinks the gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional is a big legal shift for Obama, who once taught constitutional law. Since Obama is on record as favoring same-sex civil unions but opposing gay marriage, is this a personal shift, too? (Watch White House spokesman Jay Carney announce Obama is "grappling" with the issue)

Obama is finally coming out on gay marriage: "Did anyone on any part of the political spectrum ever actually believe that Obama opposed gay marriage?" asks Stanley Kurtz in National Review. Of course not. Obama's "centrist mask is slipping." How much longer can he continue resisting "full disclosure of his leftist political allegiances"?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us