Who was the first president to support gay marriage

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A nation full of people at ease among openly gay co-workers, relatives and sitcom characters may already have passed Barack Obama by. Acceptance of gays, however, is very different than acceptance of gay marriage. But polls show support's been on an upward trend for years, and the opposition clusters among Americans over age Six out of 10 of those who are younger than that favour gay marriage, according to an AP-National Constitution Center poll.

Yet six states and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Should gays and lesbians be allowed to adopt children? Celebrities line up to condemn bullying of gay youth. The president describes his change of position on gay marriage as several steps behind his and year-old daughters and the college students he frequently encounters — even young Republicans — who already see treating gays equally as no big deal.

But particularly contentious is when the question of gay rights intersects with children and with government benefits and protections. He spoke of changing alongside Americans, not of leading them into uncharted territory. The president since then has fully endorsed marriage equality and is the only president in history to assume office in support of gay marriage, telling 60 Minutes that the issue is “settled” and he’s “fine with it.” Trump also came out in support of allowing gays to serve openly in the military and ending “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”.

This is the societal backdrop against which Obama made his pronouncement Wednesday:. Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said that record disproves the theory "that same-sex marriage is inevitable. President Barack Obama's shifting stance on gay marriage ABC broke into its daytime lineup May 9,to announce a historic shift: the president of the United States declaring his personal.

Maine, Maryland and Washington state lawmakers have moved toward gay marriage, with the final outcomes possibly to be decided by voters in November. On TV shows like "Modern Family," ''Grey's Anatomy" and "Smash," gay characters get married, adopt children and kiss on screen, to little public outcry.

The numbers grow when you include those who are OK with equal legal status for gay couples so long as it's called something like a civil union instead of a marriage. After the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was lifted last year, gay and lesbian soldiers who came out to their comrades in arms reported being met with shrugs.

Indeed, Obama spoke up the day after North Carolina voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman. Obama's pronouncement, in an ABC interview Wednesday, doesn't mean same-sex marriage will suddenly become widespread across the country.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway touted President Trump’s record on gay rights Friday, telling journalists Trump was the first president to take office as a supporter of legal same-sex marriage. It became the 30th state to approve such a measure.

Students form gay-straight luke grimes gay groups. Such programming, of course, is primarily aimed at the under viewers whom advertisers covet, not the older people who are more likely to be appalled by scenes of gay romance.

A black U. But a significant cultural milestone? He made sure to say what so many so passionately believe — that states should decide such issues on their own.

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And this is a presidential election year, with the vote six months away. Taken as a whole, the nation is almost evenly divided on the question of same-sex marriage, with most conservatives and Republicans opposed and Democrats and independents in favour.

Nine allow civil unions or have domestic partnership laws that provide equivalent rights.