President Barack Obama has come out
against Minnesota's proposed gay marriage ban amendment, gay
weekly the Washington Blade reported.
Lawmakers
on Saturday agreed to put the question on next year's ballot.
If approved by voters in 2012,
Minnesota's Constitution would be amended to define marriage as a
heterosexual union, thereby banning gay and lesbian couples from the
institution.
Earlier attempts to approve such a
measure included broader language banning not only marriage but also
civil unions and domestic partnerships for gay couples.
The president came out against the
measure in a statement offered by the White House: “The President
has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights
and benefits to same sex couples or to take such rights away. While
he believes this is an issue best addressed by the states, he also
believes that committed gay couples should have the same rights and
responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.”
Obama, who has said he supports civil
unions, not marriage, for gay couples, has also previously objected
to California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.