Gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans
(LCR) has labeled the timing of President Obama's announcement in
support of gay marriage “offensive.”
Obama
on Wednesday told ABC News' Robin Roberts: “I've concluded that
for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that
I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
The announcement comes a day after
North Carolina approved Amendment One, which bans marriage, civil
unions and possibly domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian
couples.
R. Clarke Cooper, president of LCR,
dismissed Obama's endorsement as political calculus.
“That the president has chosen today,
when LGBT Americans are mourning the passage of Amendment One, to
finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous,”
Cooper said. “Log Cabin Republicans appreciate that President
Obama has finally come in line with leaders like Vice President Dick
Cheney on this issue, but LGBT Americans are right to be angry that
this calculated announcement comes too late to be of any use to the
people of North Carolina, or any of the other states that have
addressed this issue on his watch. This administration has
manipulated LGBT families for political gain as much as anybody, and
after his campaign’s ridiculous contortions to deny support for
marriage equality this week he does not deserve praise for an
announcement that comes a day late and a dollar short.”
Meanwhile, conservative network Fox
News reported Obama's announcement with the headline: “Obama Flip
Flops, Declares War On Marriage.”