A really nice look from AP at gay marriage showdowns looming in six states this year: Washington state, Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota, Maine, and New Jersey. AP also mentioned the quote that AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay got out of the President on the issue, that he's "evolving." AP also noted that court judgments could force the issue this year as well.
On the Democratic side, President Barack Obama has taken several steps during his first term that have pleased gay-rights advocates, but says he is still “evolving” in regard to same-sex marriage and isn’t ready to endorse it. Some activists hope he will do so before the election, though there’s been no strong hint of that from the White House.I do think the President straddling the issue looks bad, especially when the Republicans are happy to say, over and over, that they simply have the same position as the President.
“Obama will get asked about it, and you can’t straddle both sides of this forever,” said Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights. “Clearly he’s not going to retreat, so he only has one place to go, and I think he will do it before the election.”
Another potential factor: Judgments could be issued during the campaign in one or more of several pending federal court cases about same-sex marriage. Appeals could result in the issue heading toward the Supreme Court, and the presidential candidates would be expected to comment on any major development.
