the position he knows he can't take
will the fringe be able to force him ? NC's new constitutional amendment is going to bring this into focus when he least needs it.
will the fringe be able to force him ? NC's new constitutional amendment is going to bring this into focus when he least needs it.
North Carolina is expected to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on Tuesday, putting the issue at the top of the political agenda in a battleground election state.
The vote is awkward for Barack Obama, who won North Carolina by the narrowest of margins in the 2008 presidential election and has avoided discussing the amendment during visits to the state aimed at securing victory in November.
But on the eve of the vote, Joe Biden, the vice-president, and Arne Duncan, Mr Obama’s education secretary, both said they support marriage equality. The president, in contrast, says he wants greater rights for gay couples but has stopped short of endorsing same-sex marriage.
“In supporting marriage equality, he communicates to all students that they deserve an equal shot at the American dream of love, family and equality,” Joe Solmonese, head of the Human Rights Campaign gay-rights group, said on Monday after Mr Duncan told MSNBC, the broadcaster, that gay marriage should be legal.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the president shares these values and that’s why it’s time for him to speak out in favour of marriage equality as well,” Mr Solmonese said.