By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League
President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex “marriage” this week surprised few but left many pondering its effect on November’s election and on the nation’s future.
During an interview with ABC news Wednesday, the president said members of his staff in “incredibly committed, monogamous same-sex relationships” and homosexual members of the military who feel “constrained” made him want to affirm his belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to tie the knot.
A supporter of same-sex marriage during his 1996 run for the Illinois Senate, Obama told the nation a different story on the presidential election trail in 2008. “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman…” he said, adding, “I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage.” But since that time he has insisted repeatedly that his views on marriage have been “evolving” as his administration refused to enforce the federal Defense of Marriage Act and he has frequently spoken out against efforts to defend traditional marriage.
He had announced his opposition to North Carolina’s Marriage Amendment, which passed easily on Tuesday with 61 percent of the vote, and expressed disappointment in the actions of Tar Heel voters before making his own views official.
The Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said the president’s announcement should not in any way discourage traditional marriage supporters in North Carolina.
“It has not dampened my joy at the passage of the Marriage Amendment in the least. However, don’t think for a moment that the announcement of Obama’s ‘evolution’ in favor of gay marriage was anything coincidental today,” he said Wednesday. “I believe it was strategic. Think of it. North Carolina just approved a constitutional amendment affirming traditional marriage and accepting no substitutes — and it did so by an overwhelming margin. Now that’s news — real news! But what overshadowed such news and the main story of the media today? Why, of course, the President’s support for gay marriage.”
Dr. Creech pointed out that homosexual activists have been pushing hard for days for the President to make such an announcement.
“The fact that he finally acknowledged his support for same-sex marriage the very day after North Carolina’s historic vote — one that undoubtedly has national significance — is demonstrative of a concerted effort to draw attention away from the fact that a super majority of Americans are opposed to same-gender marriage,” he said.
The president’s endorsement, denounced by leaders of the nation’s two largest religious denominations, also came just in time for a number of huge fundraisers, one in Hollywood, home to many of the nation’s most high-profile backers of gay marriage, and another in New York sponsored by gay Obama fans.
Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage, said President Obama is “choosing the money over the voters.”
The Rev. Bryant Wright, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the president’s move a “calculated, politically expedient decision that completely ignores the biblical foundation of marriage.” And New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,” told the Associated Press that Obama’s comments “undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society,” and that “the people of this country, especially our children, deserve better.”
Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Fla., and the man Obama calls his spiritual adviser, said he has no doubt “there will absolutely be blowback from his personal decision.”
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said marriage will likely be a major issue in the presidential election, especially given that “10 of the 16 battleground states have marriage amendments that could be overturned by the President’s new policy position.”
“As demonstrated by yesterday’s overwhelming vote in North Carolina, redefining marriage remains outside the mainstream of American politics, especially in the critical battleground states and among minority voters,” Perkins said in a statement released Wednesday.