When the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue of same-sex marriage later this year, President Barack Obama hopes the nation’s highest court will make the “right decision.” During an interview on Thursday with one of three YouTube creators at the White House, Obama said he is hopeful the Supreme Court will recognize that there is “no good reason” to ban same-sex marriage.
“My hope is that they go ahead and recognize what I think the majority of people in America now recognize, which is two people who love each other and are treating each other with respect, and aren’t bothering anybody else, why would the law treat them differently?” Obama told YouTube creator GloZell Green. “There’s no good reason for it, and so as a consequence I’m hopeful the Supreme Court comes to the right decision.”
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Obama’s remarks come after he declared marriage equality a “civil right” during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a consolidated case challenging same-sex marriage bans in four states — Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — and address whether the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from banning same-sex marriage or recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere. Following that announcement, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder reaffirmed that the Justice Department would file a brief urging the Supreme Court “to make marriage equality a reality for all Americans.” Oral arguments are expected to be heard in April with a decision handed down by the court in June.
Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage in May 2012 after his administration ceased defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in February 2011. His administration later urged the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA and California’s Proposition 8.
“I will tell you peoples’ hearts have opened up on this issue,” the president said during Thursday’s interview. “I think people know that treating folks unfairly, even if you disagree with their lifestyle choice, the fact of the matter is they’re not bothering you. Let them live their lives and under the law they should be treated equally.
“And as far as me personally, just to see all the loving gay and lesbian couples that I know who are great parents and great partners, the idea that we would not treat them like the brothers and sisters they are, that doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Today marks 10 years since the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal nationwide. Since then, the number of married same-sex couples in the U.S. has more than doubled -- even as fears grow that the ruling could be overturned.
The Williams Institute estimates there are now about 823,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S., including 591,000 who have wed since the Obergefell decision.
Not every couple has a fairy-tale beginning, or meet-cute origin story to share in "Awww"-inducing social media posts. Romance, for some, blossoms under less decorous circumstances. That's the case for W. Tre and Free, the Black queer couple at a crossroads in Tarell Alvin McCraney's brilliantly observed, and deliciously frank and funny love story We Are Gathered.
Tre and Free met at an outdoor cruising spot inside a city park, where men gather in the dark for surreptitious, mostly anonymous sexual hookups. It so happens that, for this couple, lust at first sight led not only to quick sex, but also a genuine connection that then grew into something deeper.
In a clear jab at LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) introduced a resolution last week to declare June as "Family Month" — a move right-wing outlet The Daily Wire hailed as an effort to "reclaim the first month of summer from LGBTQ ideology."
The American family is under relentless attack from a radical leftist agenda that seeks to erase truth, redefine marriage, and confuse our children," Miller told The Daily Wire.
"By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of 'Pride' and instead honor God's timeless and perfect design. If we truly want to restore our nation, we must stand united to protect and uphold the foundation upon which it was built — the family."
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