Michael Hamar | May 10th, 2012As regular readers of this blog know, I have often been frustrated and/or angry with Barack Obama and his repeated willingness to throw LGBT Americans under the bus when deemed politically expedient. Yes, at times Obama has exhibited pro-gay actions: passage of DADT repeal (under extreme pressure), cessation of defense of DOMA, and various administrative actions. Today, much to my surprise, Obama finally got off the fence on same sex marriage. Am I pleased that he finally did so? Most definitely, even though it's unclear what Obama's personal support for same sex couples will mean from a practical perspective. I do hope that Obama's statements will perhaps help LGBT youth to believe that the future can be better. From surfing the blogosphere, I'm not the only one with mixed emotions and uncertain as to what the consequences will be. First, these reactions from Andrew Sullivan:
FEBRUARY 1996: "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages," reads a typed, signed statement from then-Illinois state senate candidate Obama in response to a questionnaire by the Chicago LGBT newspaper "Outlines." White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer later publicly disavowed the statement, claiming in June 2011 that the questionnaire was "actually filled out by someone else."
