House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is
hoping President Barack Obama will endorse gay marriage.
In a wide-ranging cover interview with
gay glossy The
Advocate, Pelosi said she is pushing the Democratic National
Committee (DNC) to help bankroll efforts against ballot box measures
in Minnesota and North Carolina that would amend their state
constitutions to define marriage as a heterosexual union and back a
campaign in Maine that seeks to legalize gay marriage in the state
with a voter referendum.
(Related: Campaign
to win gay marriage in Maine secures sufficient signatures.)
“There are more ways to get your
voice heard than just speaking,” Pelosi said.
The 71-year-old Democrat from San
Francisco also criticized gay Republicans who attack Massachusetts
Congressman Barney Frank.
“Oh, but what about them? He
chooses a party that supports his values. They've chosen a party
that supports their income – a party that denigrates them and
treats them with disrespect,” she said.
On the subject of marriage equality,
Pelosi declined to discuss any conversations she might have had with
Obama, then added: “But I hope the president would just say he
supports equality in marriage.”
Obama has said he supports civil unions
for gay and lesbian couples and is “evolving” on marriage.
(Related: Obama
opposed to “efforts to deny rights” to gay couples.)