Today Marks One Year Anniversary of President Obama’s Support for Freedom to Marry
May 9, 2013
Contact: Respect For Marriage Coalition Office / 202-567-5720
Washington, D.C.— The Respect for Marriage Coalition today marked the one year anniversary of President Barack Obama’s support for the freedom to marry, an historic announcement that injected new momentum into the movement for equality for gay and lesbian couples nationwide.
On May 9, 2012 in an ABC News interview with Robin Roberts, President Obama became the first sitting President to declare his support for the freedom to marry:
“[When] I meet gay and lesbian couples, when I meet same-sex couples, and I see-- how caring they are, how much love they have in their hearts-- how they're takin[g] care of their kids. When I hear from them the pain they feel that somehow they are still considered-- less than full citizens when it comes to – their legal rights – then – for me, I think it just has tipped the scales in that direction,”
In the year since the President’s announcement, the national conversation about marriage for same-sex couples has dramatically changed for the better. Public support has increased across all demographic groups, five new states have enacted freedom to marry legislation, and numerous bipartisan officials have joined the President’s call for the freedom to marry, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Senator and Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, and U.S. Senators Rob Portman (OH) Mark Begich (AK), Kay Hagan (NC), Claire McCaskill (MO), Jon Tester (MT), Mark Warner (VA), Tom Carper (DE), Jay Rockefeller (WV), Mark Kirk (IL), and Bob Casey (PA). And, a broad coalition including 214 Members of Congress, 131 Republican leaders, more than 300 of the nation’s top companies, dozens of military officials, clergy members, pediatricians and family health organizations, and civil rights advocates have filed briefs with the Supreme Court urging them to strike down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s discriminatory ban on same-sex marriage in two cases on which the United States Supreme Court will rule in June.
Evan Wolfson, president and founder of Freedom to Marry said, “The President's historic support for the freedom to marry has helped countless Americans, including many of our elected leaders, to complete their journeys. With record levels of the public in favor of the freedom to marry and victories at the ballot and in state legislatures, this unprecedented momentum for marriage points toward a future in which all loving, committed couples are treated with fairness and dignity.”
“The impact of the President’s support has been enormous,” said HRC Vice President for Communications Fred Sainz. “He has driven the momentum for marriage equality a year later and his support shows that politicians at the highest of levels can publicly support marriage equality and be reelected.”
The surge of momentum in public opinion continues. Dozens of polls have shown consistent majority support for the freedom to marry, and a March Washington Post/ABCpoll now shows that 58 percent of Americans support marriage for same-sex couples, including 81 percent of all voters under 30. The same poll also found that 52 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters between the ages of 18 and 49 now support the freedom to marry. And, according to an in-depth analysis by Republican pollsters, support levels are up dramatically across all demographics, including Republicans, Evangelicals, Catholics, and minorities – groups where support had previously lagged.
The momentum at the state level reflects the broad and growing majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry. In the last year, Maine, Maryland, Washington, Rhode Island and Delaware have all granted the freedom to marry, bringing the total number of states to 11 plus the District of Columbia. Illinois and Minnesota are also poised to pass freedom to marry legislation this month. A map of all state laws can be found here.
These trends are continuing unabated. According to an April 2013 Williams Institute report, “Public Support for Marriage for Same-sex Couples by State,” every state has experienced an increase in support for same-sex marriage, with an average increase of 13.6 percent in the last eight years. They also note that if public opinion in support of the freedom to marry continues to trend at the same rate, a majority of residents in eight more states will support marriage by the end of 2014.
For more information visit RespectForMarriage.org.
The Respect for Marriage Coalition is a partnership of more than 100 civil rights, faith, health, labor, business, legal, LGBT, student, and women's organizations working together to end the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and grow support for the freedom to marry. The Coalition is co-chaired by Freedom to Marry and the Human Rights Campaign.