Why was Obama against Prop 8?

[TeamJordan23]

Does anyone know. I know he opposed it, but I did not fully know why. The articles I have looked for on Google do not mention any reason for opposing Prop 8 other than the fact it was 'divisive'.

If he is against gay marriage and in favor of letting states decide, shouldn't he have been for Prop 8 then?

[Diamonique]

1. My guess...

He is against amending the constitution to ban gay marriage. Prop 8 is an amendment to the California constitution.

[mondo joe]

3. But why? It's a little confusing, if he opposes same sex marriage AND thinks it's

up to the states to decide, why oppose amending the constitution?

[cbayer]

2. I believe he opposed the limitation of rights as a consitutional amendment.

:shrug:

[rug]

4. Hot potato.

[sandnsea]

5. He supports equal rights

whether it be through marriage or civil union. Prop 8 did the reverse.

[Clio the Leo]

6. It's confusing......

.... we .... and gladly this is the one thing we all agree on I hope ..... are AGAINST Prop 8 because Prop 8 was a vote to amend the Cali. constitution so that ONLY men and women could marry. So Barack was AGAINST it .... and that's a good thing.

The verbage read as, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." So a vote AGAINST it was a vote IN FAVOR of GLBT marriages.

This is the root of the problem. Constitutions, state or the US version, have never made any specification about marriage period. The right now wants to add an amendment qualifying what marriage should be. Not only is it wrong, its superflous. lol

[Political Tiger]

9. Also, I think one can personally not be for gay marriage

but also not support the government telling people who they can marry.

IOW: You don't have to "pro-abortion" to be pro-choice!

[mondo joe]

14. Fallacious. Obama is not supporting laws that let the individual choose. NT

[Clio the Leo]

16. I have a hard time with that one......

.... despite my personal religious beliefs, I feel that if one group has the right to marry, from a civil standpoint, all should. I think GLBTs should be able to go to the courthouse OR to a religious organization who will marry them. I dont think we need to add an amendment SUPPORTING it. The 14th amendment is abundantly clear...

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The right wing just needs to drop the matter entirely ..... heh, yeah, I know, dont hold my breath.

[Solon]

22. Not to start an argument, but what religious beliefs are you "in despite" of?

I'm honestly curious here.

[Solon]

21. Hey, I don't want to marry a guy, for crying out loud, but that doesn't mean I'm not for gay...

marriage for those who want it.

[Political Tiger]

25. As far as I know

Obama as never nor ever plans to take any actions whatsoever to stop gay people from marrying.

[Solon]

27. And that would be enough, as long as he appoints judges who take the same stand...

and fulfills a few of his campaign promises, which he better, then I'll be, well, mollified.

However, I still argue venomously that his entire argument against Same Sex Marriage is not only internally inconsistent with his own religion, but is rather presumptuous as well.

[Political Tiger]

29. Fair enough. n/t

[Solon]

7. He likes to play both sides?

That's the only conclusion I can draw from it.

[Political Tiger]

11. So if someone is pro-choice

that means they support abortion?

[mondo joe]

13. Not quite the same. Pro choice people want the law to give people the choice. Obama

does not favor laws that give individuals the choice to marry.

Or if he does, it's contrary to his stated opinion.

[Solon]

15. Someone can say they are against having an Abortion for themselves and also be pro-choice...

They can even say its not an ideal situation, but that it should remain legal as a safe method for ending pregnancies.

Obama's position isn't like that, he said that as a Christian, he believe marriage is defined between a man and a woman. He also said that it was a state rights issue. He contradicts himself in both of these with his opposition to Proposition 8.

[Political Tiger]

18. I guess I just don't see life

in such black and white terms.

[Solon]

24. But in some rare cases, life is EXACTLY like that. n/t

[Political Tiger]

26. You're either with us or against us? n/t

[Solon]

28. No, sometimes its enough to stand to the side, as long as you don't oppose...

You can be wrong, as long as you aren't in active opposition, that's enough to not get run over by the civil rights train. As long as you shut up about it.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Exactly. nt

[xchrom]

8. because it can be applied to race issues as well as issues that concern lgbtiq. pure and simple. nt

[Shiver]

10. My theory

Is that he opposes same-sex marriage for personal (and political) reasons, but he feels it's not his place to decide such a thing for everyone. This fits in, I think, with his opposition to FMA and Prop 8, and his statements that he would oppose any bill that tried to ban same-sex marriage that came across his desk.

I remember in one of the debates in 2004, when asked a question about abortion, John Kerry stated that at as an individual, he is against abortion, for personal and religious reasons. Politically, though, he is pro-choice, because he dos not feel it is his right to impose that belief on others. That's what I think Obama's position may be - opposed to it for personal reasons, but realizing that his views on the matter should not be forced on anyone.

Remember, it's just a theory.

[jberryhill]

31. Another way of putting that simply is...

I personally don't believe in marriage to anyone other than my wife, but I realize that others may have different beliefs.

[QC]

12. To split the difference? n/t

[trashcanistanista]

17. He opposed removal of civil rights

already granted in the California Constitution. In this case the right to gay marriage existed in the state. Prop 8 was to repeal it. Obama did not believe civil rights should be retracted once granted.

[ecstatic]

20. My interpretation is that he himself won't marry a man, but that he won't

stop others from marrying. Just like how some people won't get an abortion, but believe others should be free to choose. Of course, the states rights things is inconsistent with that, if that's what he really believes. I think this Warren flap has a hidden benefit in that it will open up the eyes of a lot of democratic lawmakers.

[AntiFascist]

23. Good question...

it could be because he does support civil unions, but California decided not to go the civil union route. It's more likely that he is just playing politics, judging from the fact that he announced to the congregation at Saddleback Church that he supports marriage only between a man and a woman, then received resounding applause for saying so.

[BlooInBloo]

30. Apparently he hasn't told you about his SINISTER plan to kill all the gay folks!

It begins with being against prop8

:rofl: