HRC, Freedom to Marry Praise Obama's Support for State Marriage Equality Efforts

President Obama recently called on Americans to support the freedom to marry when they vote on ballot measures in Maine, Maryland and Washington. The president has previously spoken out against a Minnesota proposal to exclude gays and lesbians from marriage in the state constitution. Washington residents are already voting by mail, while voters in the other three states will vote at the polls on Nov. 6.

“President Obama continues to be a transformational leader for LGBT equality,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “The president’s historic announcement of his support for marriage equality earlier this year sent a powerful message, particularly to LGBT youth, that no one’s hope of achieving the American dream should be curtailed simply because of who they are. In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington, we enter the final two weeks of this hard-fought campaign knowing that the president of the United States joins our entire community in supporting their efforts to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect.”

"Today President Obama added a strong and personal ‘I do’ to voters still making up their minds on whether to support the freedom to marry in Maine, Maryland, and Washington this election, and Freedom to Marry applauds the president’s moral leadership in standing up for families, fairness, and freedom,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage nationwide. “As the president said in May, ‘Same-sex couples should be able to get married … when we think about our faith, it’s also the golden rule.’ The right thing to do on these ballot-measures is to vote to treat others just as you would want to be treated – and let loving and committed couples share in the freedom to marry.”