In the two weeks since President Barack Obama went on national television and said that he personally believes same-sex couples "should be able to get married," concrete action has been taken by politicians and organizations. Some of the reaction was immediate, some came in the last few days. It is apparent, however, that the president's position, his final evolution on the subject, if you will, is making it more acceptable, even desirable, for others to join him.
One day after Obama's May 9 interview with Robin Roberts on ABC News, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Mormon Democrat from Nevada, said that he, too, supports the legal right of gays to wed. Why? Because he now believes "people should be able to marry whomever they want, and it's no business of mine if two men or two women want to get married." Reid has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights over the years and despite our occasional quibble with him, he was a major factor in the Senate's vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" during that lame duck session back in 2010, before the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.
It's been 12 years since Vermont created civil unions as a legal mechanism for same-sex couples. At the time, it was historic. And it was, in a way. Obama thought civil unions would be sufficient, as he said in his interview. But in the ensuing years, it was becoming clearer that civil unions and domestic partnerships do not convey the same meaning to people as marriage: everyone knows what you're talking about when you say you're married. And as polls have shown over the last decade, more people have come to support marriage equality, perhaps because after more knowledge and experience they see that same-sex couples are not destroying the institution of marriage.
Local news reports over the weekend after Obama's statement showed that while African American pastors are both for and against marriage equality, they still support their president and it seems hopeful that there is room for sharing stories on the issue. Blacks have often been unfairly portrayed as being against same-sex marriage, in part because of the stealth work done by the National Organization for Marriage that tried to drive a wedge between the LGBT and African American communities. But as more African American same-sex couples come out and tell their stories – to their families, in their churches, and at work – acceptance and support often follow. Obama himself mentioned that knowing LGBTs on his staff and meeting their families was one of the significant factors in his decision to publicly support same-sex marriage.
And then last weekend there was another huge breakthrough – the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, the most influential organization of and for African Americans, announced that it, too, was supporting marriage equality. This is a major development and could advance public opinion, which is already moving toward marriage equality. It appears that the NAACP's 69-member board was pretty unified on the vote; only two members voted against the resolution, according to the New York Times.
The NAACP's resolution is rooted in the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. As such, the organization would oppose attempts to restrict marriage equality through legislative language intended to exclude same-sex couples.
Support for marriage equality is at an all-time high – 53 percent in a Washington Post-ABC News poll that came out Wednesday. More significantly, opposition to same-sex marriage has fallen to its lowest level, with the poll finding just 39 percent think it should be illegal. The poll also found that 59 percent of African Americans say that they support same-sex marriage, up from 41 percent, although the Post noted the sample size of blacks was small. But the trend is moving in the right direction.
Obama's statement endorsing same-sex marriage is one of those watershed moments in American politics. And the right-wingers who said he came out in support of marriage equality to score political points with his liberal base miss the point. Obama's announcement was all the more courageous because it took place in the midst of his re-election campaign. And it could cost him some votes. We don't think it will – and recent polls indicate it's basically a wash. But if Obama wanted to play it safe, he would have waited until after the election to make his statement. It takes courage to do the right thing in the heat of a campaign, and that's exactly what the president did two weeks ago.