WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he supports gay marriage, reversing his position on a controversial social issue just six months before the November election and adopting a stance fraught with political implications.
Mr. Obama had been under intense pressure this week to lay out a clear stance on gay marriage after several of his top advisers endorsed it. Mr. Obama said he “personally” believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry, a position he came to after several years of talking to friends and family and thinking about gay members of the military and of his staff who are raising children together in monogamous relationships.
“I’ve been going through an evolution on this issue. I’ve always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts. “At a certain point, I just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same sex couples should be able to get married.”
