Campaign to End Gay Marriage Misuses Obama Quote
The Greater Than campaign uses a quote to falsely suggest the former president supports its effort to overturn marriage equality.
Greater Than, a recently launched campaign seeking to overturn marriage equality nationwide, is facing backlash from pro-LGBTQ activists for using a quote from former President Barack Obama in a way critics say falsely implies he supports the effort.
The campaign’s website displays Obama’s image alongside several prominent opponents of same-sex marriage, including the late Charlie Kirk, Allie Beth Stuckey, and Seth Dillon.
The photos appear beneath two lines reading, “Children’s Rights Aren’t Up for Debate” and “Be a voice that refuses to stay silent — stand up for kids.”
Below Obama’s photo is a 2010 quote from the former president stating, “We know that children benefit not just from loving mothers and loving fathers, but from strong and loving marriages as well.” According to Right Wing Watch, a project of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, the quote comes from a 2010 event promoting responsible fatherhood.
The Greater Than campaign seeks to portray same-sex couples — and those who support marriage equality — as selfish and driven by personal feelings or a desire for societal validation, framing its arguments as prioritizing children over adults.
The website features what appears to be an AI-generated image of a Black teenage boy who looks sad and troubled, while two white men — depicted as the boy’s same-sex parents — hold hands in a bathroom, seemingly unconcerned with the child’s feelings.
Critics of the Greater Than campaign have speculated that the use of such imagery, combined with Obama’s quote taken out of context, is intended to appeal to Black community members — a group that, according to public polling, has historically been less supportive of same-sex marriage and was among the last demographic groups to broadly embrace it.
Obama expressed support for same-sex marriage during his 1996 campaign for the Illinois State Senate, telling The Windy City Times that he supported legalizing it and would fight efforts to ban it. When he later ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, and during his 2008 presidential campaign, he backed away from that position, instead supporting civil unions.
In 2012, Obama said he had “evolved” on the issue and became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriage. Two justices appointed by Obama — Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — were part of the majority that ruled in favor of both marriage equality decisions in 2013 and 2015.
“If you’re wondering how credible this new anti-gay marriage organization is, look no further than their home page, which literally tries to present Barack Obama(!) as a gay marriage opponent. This is just embarrassing,” wrote one X user in response to the Greater Than campaign. “Obama’s quote was not about gay marriage, and every gay marriage supporter would agree that loving mothers and loving fathers are both important. We just think that two loving mothers or two loving fathers can also make great parents — which is Obama’s view, too.”
Metro Weekly has reached out to the Office of former President Barack Obama for comment regarding the use of his likeness in the campaign.
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