Obama and Gay Marriage

Obama's positions seem to shift with the wind, or more precisely, with the audience he's speaking to. One of those positions is gay marriage. 

He said before Iowa in this televised speech that he supported full equality for gays and lesbians. 

Barack Obama Wants Gay Marriage. - These bloopers are hilarious

At another televised speech before Iowa he had this to say:

You want the word marriage and I believe that the issue of marriage has become so entangled – the word marriage has become so entangled with religion – that it makes more sense for me as president, with that authority, to talk about the civil rights that are conferred" with civil unions, said Obama."

Obviously he softened his position because let's face it full equality for gays and lesbians would be legalized gay marriage. We've tried the whole separate but equal thing in America once and it didn't work. 

He's also said he's against amending the constitution to ban gay marriage and it should be left up to the states to decide. 

One state in particular is about to decide on gay marriage and that's California. It will come to a vote in November. And guess what Obama doesn't support the vote. So I'm confused about leaving it up to the states and then not supporting the effort to leave it up to the states. He had this to say:

"In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club read Sunday at the group's annual Pride Breakfast in San Francisco, the Illinois senator 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," Obama wrote."

Oh now I get it, leaving it up to the states only counts when the state supports gay marriage. 

And last night at a values forum hosted by the evangelical Rick Warren, Obama reasserted his position against gay marriage, support of civil unions and support of the right for each state to decide for themselves. 

So when speaking to Christians Obama is for civil unions and against gay marriage. When speaking to Californians Obama is opposed to banning gay marriage which would effectively legalize it.

Now this position may not seem all that different. But remember the supreme court in California just ruled that gay marriage is legal, so if the voters do not overturn the will of the supreme court in November gay marriage would remain legal.