Former President Barack Obama — Photo by Chuck Kennedy / Biden for President
Former President Barack Obama has criticized Republicans who continue to attack same-sex marriage, six years after the Supreme Court legalized it nationwide.
Obama spoke Saturday at a campaign event for former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, just days after McAuliffe’s Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, said he opposed marriage equality.
In an interview last week with the Associated Press, Youngkin spoke of his Christian faith and said he doesn’t support same-sex marriage, instead describing it as “legally acceptable.”
“Are we still arguing about gay marriage? Really?” Obama, the first sitting president to publicly support gay couples having the right to marry, said during Saturday’s event at Virginia Commonwealth University. “I thought that ship had sailed. I thought that was pretty clearly the right thing to do.”
The former president also urged voters in Virginia to support McAuliffe in the Nov. 2 election, issuing a veiled warning that a Republican win would “damage” the state.
“I’m here today because I believe Virginia will make the right choice,” Obama said. “I believe America, ultimately, will make the right choice. I believe you right here in Virginia are going to show the rest of the country, and the world, that we’re not going to indulge in our worst instincts.”
He continued: “We’re not going to go back to the past that did so much damage, we’re going to move forward with people like Terry leading the way.”
McAuliffe, who is seeking a second term as governor and currently holds a slim lead over Youngkin in polling, issued his own rebuke to his opponent’s comments.
“As governor, I worked my heart out to keep Virginia open and welcoming to all,” McAuliffe tweeted on Oct. 22. “This type of bigotry and intolerance has NO place in our Commonwealth.”
McAuliffe added that he was “proud to be the first Southern governor to officiate a same-sex wedding” and that he would “ALWAYS stand up for marriage equality here in Virginia.”
Jason Elliott's first piece of leather was a Christmas present from his mother.
"I didn't own a stitch of leather when I was asked to judge as a novice in 2022," recalls the Chesapeake, Virginia native. "So, for Christmas in December 2021, my mom gave me a plain black leather uniform shirt. I still have that shirt."
As of last January, he had a sash to go with it, after winning the Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2025 title.
Elliott's first MAL came six years earlier, in 2019. A man he had been chatting with online invited him to have cocktails "at this leather thing in D.C.," Elliott recalls. "I showed up at the Hyatt, walked in the front door, looked out over a sea of Leathermen, and I knew I was home. That was my very first time at MAL, and I knew then I would be going there for the rest of my life."
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the first out gay leader of the Israeli parliament, angered the ultra-Orthodox parties within the conservative Likud-led governing coalition after voting in favor of a civil marriage bill last week.
The proposed bill, which was ultimately defeated, was introduced by the centrist Yesh Atid party, the largest faction in the opposition. It would have established a legal framework for regulating same-sex partnerships in Israel, including a couples registry, eligibility requirements, registration procedures, and mechanisms for dissolving civil marriages.
Conservative Christians attacked fast food giant Chick-fil-A after a franchisee in Orem, Utah, posted a Facebook message celebrating a young gay couple’s marriage.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE!" the December 3 post reads. "Dougie & Toby recently got married and we are so beyond happy for them!"
The celebratory message quickly triggered backlash from conservatives. The "Chick-fil-A Orem Plaza" Facebook account ultimately restricted public comments to users who had been following the page for more than 24 hours.
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