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Will President Obama Talk Gay Marriage, DOMA Repeal at State of the Union?

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by Tommy Christopher | 5:20 pm, January 18th, 2011

» 18 comments

At Tuesday’s White House briefing, Robert Gibbs fielded several questions about the status of the repeal of DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act), which he said, “given the current makeup of the Congress,” would be “inordinately challenging.”

Given President Obama’s recent remarks about his “evolving” opinion on same-sex marriage, and the fact that he used last year’s State of the Union address to promise the repeal of DADT, I asked Gibbs if the President might address the DOMA repeal, and his personal views on gay marriage, at this year’s SOTU.

Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade asked Gibbs if the administration still thinks repealing DOMA is possible during President Obama’s watch:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today said it would be “inordinately challenging” to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act given the GOP takeover of the House.

He added that although President Obama supports repeal of DOMA, the administration is obligated to represent the federal government in two lawsuits challenging the law.

“The president believes … that this is a law that should not exist and should be repealed but at the same time we have to represent the viewpoint of the federal government,” Gibbs said at a Tuesday press briefing.

Even so, the State of the Union is as good a time as any for the President to show leadership on this issue, and perhaps influence public opinion. I asked Gibbs if he thought that might happen. He didn’t rule it out:

Transcript: (via email from The White House)

Tommy Christopher: …recently the President told Jake that his personal view on same-sex marriage is evolving. I wanted to know if he’s reached any new personal opinion on that; if that’s something we might hear about in the State of the Union.

MR. GIBBS: I’m not aware that there is any change on that coming in the State of the Union. At this point I would say that what he told Jake is very similar to what he told a group I think in October that asked a similar question.

Tommy Christopher: Is it possible he might bring up DOMA during the State of the Union?

MR. GIBBS: I have not finished going through the first draft, so I don’t know the answer to that.

Rather than make an obviously empty promise to repeal DOMA, or even to hold a symbolic vote (that would, let’s be honest here, put many Democrats in a tough spot, let alone Republicans), the President could speak honestly about his own struggle with the issue of same-sex marriage, and the ideas and stories that have influenced his personal feelings on the matter. In doing so, he would also bring into stark relief the fact that, even after the landmark repeal of DADT, equality under the law is still outside the grasp of many Americans.

It’s true that, as it stands, there seems to be little that can be done to change the law, but an orator of President Obama’s considerable skill could definitely change a few minds.

Chris Johnson, dadt, Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, Gay Marriage, gay rights, Robert Gibbs, same sex marriage, SOTU, State of the Union, Washington Blade

Big Eddie

Sorry to curse , but BULLCRAP !

Obama and Joe are evolving ( lying ) .

Once again , he’s trying to be on both sides of an issue .

If reelected , Obama will have completed his evolution .

Weasels on parade .
Seeing 2012 From My Window

You’re very wise, Big Eddie.
lonestar77

Who (outside of journalists) care? There are many other issues that are actually important which the President should address. Or, I guess he could stick to DOMA, soccer, badmitton & the Chevy Volt.
WCinWI

If the President wants to further cause division, then yes he’ll talk about DOMA.

However, if he was going to be smart he would:

A) Call out the Left for its rhetoric.
B) Talk about jobs
Moderate

“Who (outside of journalists) care?”

Obama needs to raise 1 Billion dollars for his reelection. The homosexual community tends to have lots of money.
Socialist

Repeal DOMA.. its unconstitutional and the courts have already called it that.

Lets just get over this and start tolerating gay people as normal human beings.. Yes i know It will enrage all the conservatives, but over a long term its a lot better for the entire population.

Civil rights act caused a lot of anger in the south, but in the end it benefited the entire US
cjd ohio 1

why does marriage just have to be two people? why not 3, 4, or 5?
BeesBuzz

If Obama pushes repeal or even mentions it at the State of the Union, I can guarantee he will be NEVER be re-elected.
rex-vw

Moderate said:
“Who (outside of journalists) care?”

How about people being denied equal rights? I suspect if you were being discriminated against you would care.
Gasket

I am left of center and would want that piece of garbage DOMA law repealed and I favor marriage for all. I don’t like the term “pro-gay marriage.” It suggests preference. Same reason I don’t like “pro-abortion.” I want equality and free individual choice. Nevertheless, these are wedge issues and any smart strategist with a head on their 2 shoulders would not push going into a Presidential election year with a weak economy that needs attention. It would be a terrible mistake. The courts will gut DOMA. Just let nature take it’s course. It’s a weak law (federally) and will never stand on it’s own in the USSC when it gets there even with the current justices.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Henry-Juhala/1360425508 Henry Juhala

Who cares? Plenty of people care.

The GLBT community cares. I care. Parents, grandparents, siblings and children of GLBT folks care. School buddies and close friends of GLBT folks care. Fellow employees of GLBT folks care. Employers care. Health care workers who care for GLBT patients care. Social workers and counselors of GLBT folks and their families care. Law enforcement people who see the consequences of discrimination against GLBT folks daily care. Pastors, ministers and church friends of GLBT folks and their families care. Neighbors of GLBT folks care. People who give priority to justice and equality under the Constitution care.

The list of people who care (mostly those with close associations to GLBT folks) can go on and on and on. It is quite a wide list and getting wider every day. It represents a majority of U.S. voters today. It is no longer an issue that politicians can ascribe to just a small minority of people directly affected by it. The list I included above are just some of the people who are affected and have an interest in the outcome of marriage equality for gays and lesbians. They cannot be easily ignored by politicians of either party. Neither can they be ignored by the President of the United States nor his advisers.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Henry-Juhala/1360425508 Henry Juhala

To: Gasket. Sorry. We have been letting nature take it course for half a century now. Yes, even longer (check gay history). There were plenty of things going on with gays getting married and seeking equality long before Hawaii in 1993. Perhaps the real events started picking up after Stonewall with events like MCC publicly marrying the first gay couple in a church by a licensed minister around 1970.

We have been waiting for nature to take its course over other priorities for far too long. We took a back seat to concern ourselves with AIDS. There were always wars to concern ourselves about. Or various economic issues.

Many activists wanted to take one small step at a time and that got us virtually nowhere. It actually got us moving backwards. It was only when we started really fighting with strong constitutional arguments in the court that we started to gain signficant ground.

I agree DOMA is unconstitutional and will likely be ruled on by the courts as such. But, we cannot rest on our laurels and not involve other key components of the issue in all three branches of government, nor in the public at large. That is why involving the President NOW is so important. He has said he is on our side. NOW is the time to hold him to that and use his leadership at a critical time such as this.

Multi-tasking is what it is all about. The lame duck session in 2010 showed us just how easily Congress and the White House could multi-task when they set their priorities to do so. Economics and jobs are only one of many issues that Congress is entrusted to help manage. If we let the GOP dictate singular issues like those as our priorities in order to ignore other critical ones we all lose.
nice_thought

I get to talk to the Robert Gibbs everyday. What should I ask, what should I ask? okay, I got it, I’m gonna ask him about Doma coz I’m Christopher. It solves all the problems.
BatBoy

Tommy writes: “Even so, the State of the Union is as good a time as any for the President to show leadership on this issue, and perhaps influence public opinion.”

Tommy don’t you realize by now that our President trashed any hopes of him “influencing public opinion”

…and the funny part about it is that the President did it to himself.

Nope…no Right Wing Conspiracy here (as Hillery would say)!
Tommy is Spenc

Great article Tommy.
disgusted

lonestar77 said:
Who (outside of journalists) care? There are many other issues that are actually important which the President should address. Or, I guess he could stick to DOMA, soccer, badmitton & the Chevy Volt.

volt – SMALL electrical jolt? Like guv-mtrs?
CAconservative

We have a NATION, on the brink of bankruptcy. Borders so porous terrorists could sneak nuclear missiles in without being seen. Illegal aliens sucking every bit of tax-money they can out of this country. An intra-structure so old it’s falling apart, and unemployment hovering around the double digits, and what is this idiot president concerning himself with….homosexuals?!! Are you God-damned kidding me?!…2012 can’t get here quick enough!!
rex-vw

CAconservative said:
We have a NATION, on the brink of bankruptcy. Borders so porous terrorists could sneak nuclear missiles in without being seen. Illegal aliens sucking every bit of tax-money they can out of this country. An intra-structure so old it’s falling apart, and unemployment hovering around the double digits, and what is this idiot president concerning himself with….homosexuals?!! Are you God-damned kidding me?!…2012 can’t get here quick enough!!

Conservatives always talk a good game about the importance of individual liberty until they don’t like the individual. Hypocrisy with a healthy dose of bigotry.