In an interview with The New Yorker, President Obama offered an update on his constantly evolving position on gay marriage. Obama did not openly support marriage equality until May 2012, and at the time he said the issue should be “worked out at the local level.” However, the president told Jeffrey Toobin, “Ultimately, I think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all fifty states.”
The Obama administration has yet to make this argument before the Supreme Court, and for now the president seems fine with the incremental approach. Surprisingly, he cited the Supreme Court’s recent decision not to take up the issue, which let stand rulings allowing gay marriage in several states, as the best ruling handed down during his time in office.
“As you know, courts have always been strategic. There have been times where the stars were aligned and the Court, like a thunderbolt, issues a ruling like Brown v. Board of Education, but that’s pretty rare,” the president said. “And, given the direction of society, for the Court to have allowed the process to play out the way it has may make the shift less controversial and more lasting.” He’s really a big fan of the long game when it comes to gay marriage.
