President Obama and Miss California Agree on Same Sex Marriage

When asked today about the passage of the marriage equality bill in Maine by ABC correspondent Jake Tapper, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had the following to say:

Jake Tapper: Does the President or the White House have a reaction to the Governor of Maine signing a same-sex marriage bill?

Robert Gibbs: No, I think the President's position on same-sex marriages has been talked about and discussed.

Tapper: He opposes same-sex marriage.

Gibbs: He supports civil unions.

Tapper: Does that mean that he's going to say or do anything against what the citizens of Maine--

Gibbs: Not that I'm aware of. I think the President believes this is an issue that's best addressed by the states.

The statements sounds suspiciously like the soon to be 'Ex' Miss California, Carrie Prejean's comments regarding same sex marriage:

Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage .... And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be - between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.

In fact, previous statements by the White House further reflect viewpoints very similar to Miss Prejean's. In response to the unanimous decision for marriage equality in Iowa, the White House issued the following statement:

The President respects the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage. Although President Obama supports civil unions rather than same-sex marriage, he believes that committed gay and lesbian couples should receive protection under the law.

So, President Obama, a well respected and brilliant constitutional law professor supports a seperate but equal policy that is clearly at odds with prior Supreme Court rulings and increasingly being discredited by state courts. Actually, he didn't even say 'equal protectioon' they said 'protection.' In fact, the New Jersey Civil Union Commission recently found that not only were Civil Unions in that state not providing equality, they were increasingly being used for targeted discrimination against gays and lesbians. How can a law professor continue to support an arrangement intended to create a system that has time and time again been proven inadequate?

Obama's true positition has thus far been quite difficult to ascertain. While on one hand he often says that he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he never suggests that his belief should be codified into law. In fact, the'Yes on 8' campaign succesfully used his statements to convince California voters that Obama supported the measure that eliminated the right for gays and lesbians to marry, when in fact the opposite was true. Obama said he supports extending "fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states."

The time has passed in which it is acceptable to support 'separate but equal.' It's also well past the time where the use of confusing and contradictory political statements is acceptable. It is time that our elected leaders do what they were elected to do, represent all Americans and lead our nation in the direction that our founding fathers intended - toward equality and freedom.