At the White House's annual Gay Pride
reception on Wednesday, President Barack Obama refused to endorse gay
marriage.
After touting his administration's
accomplishments on LGBT issues, including repeal of “Don't Ask,
Don't Tell,” passage of a gay-inclusive hate crimes law and lifting
of the HIV travel ban, the president began to veer in the direction
of marriage equality but stopped short of an endorsement.
Progress, Obama said, “happens when a
father realizes he doesn't just love his daughter, but also her
partner. It happens when a soldier tells his unit that he's gay, and
they say, well, yeah, we knew that but, you know, you're a good
soldier. It happens when a video sparks a movement to let every
single young person out there know that they're not alone. It
happens when people look past their differences to understand common
humanity.”
In answering a reporter's question
about his personal position on gay marriage, Obama answered: “I'm
not going to make news on that today. Good try, though.” (The
video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The president has said he supports
civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, but more recently he's
added that he's “evolving” on the issue.
Obama
also skirted the issue at a gay fundraiser in New York last week.