Doesn’t matter how long it took the President to come to his decision, just so long as he came to the right decision! The late Alabama segregationist governor George Wallace eventually evolved and came to a new enlightenment as well, and he was as evil as they come. It’s just too bad that Congress, who actually makes the law of the land, will never anytime soon go for marriage equality.

I underwent a similar evolution. I didn’t used to like gay people. My idea on what a gay person was was based on caricature and television: basically fiction. I didn’t grow up knowing anyone like that (knowingly), and besides because of church upbringing & brainwashing I was raised to make fun of them and scorn them and certainly NOT love them. It’s amazing, though, how things change once you get to know somebody you’re supposed to hate. Instantly you realize that these are human beings just like you are, if you look at them with open eyes, anyway. My world is richer for having gay people in my life, and I want my gay friends, as well as those who are not yet my friends, to be able to do what I have the option of doing but chose not to. They’d want the same for me.

Change is a good thing. Change eliminated legalized slavery. Change gave me one of the best friends I ever had. Thanks to his children Malia & Sasha’s experiences with their friends, change has come to President Obama. Now if only the people who make the laws that can effect the real change could experience a similar evolution, I think ultimately we’ll all be better for it.

Iris —

Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:

I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I hope you’ll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality:

http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage

I’ve always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.

But over the course of several years I’ve talked to friends and family about this. I’ve thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.

Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them that their friends’ parents should be treated differently.

So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.

If you agree, you can stand up with me here.

Thank you,

Barack