NOM BLOG

Liberals Demand Obama Weigh in On Gay Marriage Legal Arguments

 

Obama's conveniently-timed endorsement of same-sex marriage during the campaign season is now leaving some liberals to wonder why he hasn't commented once on the issue since being reelected, not even now that the Supreme Court has decided to take up the question:

"The Supreme Court’s decision to weigh in on two gay marriage cases has raised an important question: Will the Obama administration offer clarity on whether he thinks gay and lesbian Americans have a constitutional, as opposed to a moral, right to marry?

The Obama Justice Department is not saying whether it will address this question. But sources tell me the legal team representing the plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 case — Ted Olson, David Boise, and Ted Boutrous — plan to lobby the administration to publicly declare that the right to gay marriage is protected by the constitution, and to file a legal brief supporting their argument to that effect.

This would be a big, big move on the administration’s part. And Obama must do it, for two reasons. First, because it could help influence the Supreme Court to reach a broad conclusion on the constitutionality of gay marriage. Second, weighing in could help prepare public opinion to accept this right, too." -- Greg Sargent at The Washington Post

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