Obama Throws Support Behind Gay Marriage Initiatives

President Barack Obama last week threw his support behind ballot measures in Maine, Maryland and Washington state that would legalize same-sex marriage.

Though the president first voiced his general approval for gay marriage in May, he had not previously offered specific endorsements of the three measures. In each case, the endorsements were issued through the state branches of Obama’s re-election campaign.

Those opposed are being called bigots. Chip White of Preserve Marriage Washington, which opposes the gay-marriage law, said he was unsurprised by Obama’s action saying “Until May of this year, the president’s position was that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. No one called him a bigot or said he was unfair for holding that position.”

If any of the measures are approved, it would be the first time that a state legalized same-sex marriage through a popular vote.