--Story Highlight /5/9/12 -6:30PM, EST
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue in which Americans are evenly split.

The announcement, long sought by supporters of same-sex marriage, puts Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"At a certain point I've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said in an interview with ABC News.

Obama once opposed same-sex marriage. He later indicated his views were "evolving." His announcement Wednesday in support of same-sex marriage was the first by a sitting president.

"I had hesitated on gay marriage, in part, because I thought civil unions would be sufficient," the president said. "I was sensitive to the fact that -- for a lot of people -- that the word marriage is something that provokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs."

But, Obama said, his thinking shifted as he witnessed committed same-sex marriages and thought about U.S. service personnel who were "not able to commit themselves in a marriage."

It was not immediately clear how the development might play out at the voting booth.

A Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated 50% of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with 48% saying such marriages should not be legal.

But a CNN/ORC poll, taken in late March, indicated policies towards gays and lesbians were tied for last in the most-important issues facing the country.

Obama was "disappointed" by Tuesday's vote on the issue in North Carolina, which he described as discriminatory against gays and lesbians, a spokesman said earlier Wednesday.

North Carolina voted to implement a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was already prohibited by state law. Supporters of the measure pushed for the constitutional amendment, arguing that it was needed to ward off future legal challenges.

The president said he supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own, ABC News reported.

Obama said his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. "It wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."
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One day he will stand in front of the great White Throne Judgment Seat of Christ and then it will be too late!
JESUS IS LORD! Gay Marriage is a slap in the face of a Holy, righteous God! "GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED! Whatever a man sows that will he also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

-It's Not Helping You, Mr, President

Since endorsing the sin of sodomy, President Obama has energized the gay community. But since they only represent a very small (though loud, militant, and generous to those supporting their agenda) segment of our society, how is that working out for the president among the rest of the folk?
Read from Weasel Zippers:

New CBS/NYT Poll Finds One In Four Voters Less Likely To Vote For Obama After Gay Marriage Endorsement…

(CBS News) — One in four registered voters say they are less likely to vote for President Obama in November because he expressed support same-sex marriage, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

While 25 percent say the president’s support for same-sex marriage makes them less likely to support his reelection, 16 percent say his position makes them more likely to support him. Fifty-eight percent say the announcement will not affect how they vote.

Republicans were most likely to say the announcement made them less likely to support the president, with 43 percent making that assertion. Even before he came out in support of same-sex marriage, Mr. Obama had little support from Republican voters. In the new survey, conducted from May 11-13, only five percent of Republicans said they would vote for the president in November.

More worrisome for the president is the percentage of Democrats and independents who say the decision will sway their views. And that figure, while smaller, is not insignificant.
Posted by Debra Moore/ Exposing Liberal Lies