President Barack Obama's campaign on
Monday issued a statement in opposition to a proposed constitutional
amendment which would define marriage as a heterosexual union in
Minnesota.
“While the President does not weigh
in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear
that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory
efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples,” Kristen
Sosanie, spokeswoman for the Obama for America – Minnesota
campaign, said in a statement. “That's what the Minnesota ballot
initiative would do – it would single out and discriminate against
committed gay and lesbian couples – and that's why the President
does not support it.”
Last month, the campaign released a
statement saying that the president is opposed to North Carolina's
similar but farther-reaching amendment. If approved on May 8 during
the state's primary, the proposed amendment would bar the state from
recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian couples with
marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic partnerships.
Minnesota voters will decide on the ban
in November.
Both states currently outlaw gay
couples from marrying.