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USA TODAY readers sound off about news that President Obama has endorsed same-sex marriage. Many comments were overwhelmingly supportive of the president's stance, whereas others showed skepticism over the "evolution" of his views and the timing of the announcement. (Comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.)
"Desperate play to energize his base -- nothing more. He had nothing but bad news with the election results yesterday and needed this to rally leftist support and to deflect the focus from his record. " -- Tim Erwin
"Brilliant move, when faced with the sobering specter of 31 straight electoral defeats and 0 victories the Chosen One will now join the side of the defeated and lead them to...more defeats? Really, not seeing a positive for the gays or the president here. " -- Jeff Frye
"Those of us who understand biological evolution know that there are evolutionary thresholds, so I think that his position will continue to evolve until after the election. Those of us who understand biological evolution also know that homosexuality is perfectly natural. Those of us who understand social evolution know that gay marriage is an inevitability in this country." -- Theodosius Mandelbrot
"I'm less interested in Obama's current stand on this and more interested in when and why did he take this stand. I can't help but think this statement is 100% politically motivated. If he truly believes this, he didn't just begin to do so. Then when? And why did he hide this belief? Politicians." -- Stanton Taylor
"I am not opposed to this view but it is so simplistic. Never a thought of unintended consequences. Same-sex marriage. Does that also equal spousal benefits at work and with Social Security? How about if I was a smart kid wanting to go to college and would like to have my roommates medical benefits from his/her job/? We'd get married, I'd use those benefits, get through school then annul the marriage. The actual unintended consequences are far reaching ... much more so then the act of marriage itself." -- Neil Moss
"Glad he reaffirmed his position - not sure how far he'll take it. I'm sure it is a political calculation to eventually bring it back on Romney - who at one time supported gay marriage rights. The company I work for has a great gay marriage policy." -- Jill Kennedy
"It looks like Romney's our next president. The majority of peeps in this country are strongly opposed to anything that even remotely smacks of buggery!" -- Crabbes Callahan
"I didn't even know he was on the fence about it. Or is he. He is rabidly liberal in every other situation, so, I expect him to say he's for it. He knows however, that people of color tend to be more conservative in this one regard, because they are often informed by their religious faith. So this will be tricky for him. Let's see which wins out, political expediency, or actual moral value." -- Kathleen Reagan
