This was covered in January by The Huffington Post as well: www.huffingtonpost.com...
While running for the Illinois State Senate in 1996 (just 12 years ago!), Obama told the gay newspaper Outlines he was committed to full marriage rights for gay men and women: "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."
www.queerty.com...
IMPACT, which was Chicago’s main GLBT political
action committee for several years, surveyed
Obama and other candidates, as did Outlines.
What we are including with this special Presidential
Inaugural issue of Windy City Times are
copies of the answers to the IMPACT and Outlines
questions. For IMPACT, the Obama campaign
simply responded on the form. For Outlines, the
candidate typed in his answers and signed his
letter. www.windycitymediagroup.com...
news/ARTICLE.php?AID=3931
More recently, as Obama has run for higher of-
fice, from senator to president, he has further
shaped his views on marriage, and now he does
not back same-sex marriage. In a January 2004
interview I conducted with Obama at the Windy
City Times’ office, Obama clearly stated that lack
of support for full marriage equality was a matter
of strategy rather than principle, but in even
more recent comments, it appears he is backing
off even further, saying it is more of a religious
issue, and also a “state†issue, so he favors civil
unions. www.windycitymediagroup.com...
news/ARTICLE.php?AID=3931
Obama: What I’m saying is that strategically,
I think we can get civil unions passed. I think
we can get SB 101 passed. I think that to the
extent that we can get the rights, I’m less concerned
about the name. And I think that is my
No. 1 priority, is an environment in which the
Republicans are going to use a particular language
that has all sorts of connotations in the
broader culture as a wedge issue, to prevent us
moving forward, in securing those rights, then I
don’t want to play their game.
TB: If Massachusetts gets marriage and this
gives momentum to the proposed federal Constitutional
amendment against gay marriage?
Obama: I would oppose that. www.windycitymediagroup.com...
news/ARTICLE.php?AID=3931