It took a while, but President Barack Obama finally took a stand on gay marriage in the USA. This Wednesday (09), during an interview with ABC TV, Obama officially declared his support for the LGBT community.
"At a certain point I concluded that for me personally, it is important to go ahead and publicly state that I think same-sex couples should be able to marry," the president said.
Obama's statement comes at a critical time regarding the union of same-sex couples. This Wednesday, the The state of North Carolina passed a law banning gay marriage.
In addition to suffering strong pressure from activists and social movements fighting for the rights of homosexuals in the USA, Obama found himself in an uncomfortable situation after his vice-president, Joe Biden, stated that he was in favor of same-sex marriage and was still further away to declare that the series "Will & Grace" helped educate the American people.
"I had been hesitant about gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions were enough. I was sensitive to the fact that for many people, the word 'marriage' is something that invokes very strong traditions and religious beliefs," he explained. Barack Obama, when asked why it took him so long to take a position.
Below, watch an excerpt from Barack Obama's interview with ABC TV.
