yes very encouraging – Julia & Tony just need to get with it too.

F2be people may be interested in signing a "thank you card" to Obama –

http://www.allout.org/en/actions/thanksobama

Cheers,

Sarab

Quote from Ann Maree on May 10, 2012, 7:46 am

Hi all

I heard Obama say he personally affirms that same sex couples should be able to marry. I found this encouraging.. However he is leaving it to individual states to decide on whether same sex marriage is made legal in their area.

Blessings,

Ann Maree

Just so people know, the constitutional situation in the US is different from Australia. Here, marriage is explicitly a federal issue. In America it IS a states issue – it's not a question of Obama leaving it to the states, it's a question of the constitution leaving it to the states. There's not much that the federal government can do. And Obama has already done a lot of what he can do, like getting rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell in the military, and no longer defending the 'Defense of Marriage' Act.

So it's mostly about symbolism. But it's still incredibly significant symbolism. The leader of the free world thinks I'm okay.

Hi Anne Marie and others,

I totally agree with you Anne Marie Obama's statement of support is definitely a powerful and loving gesture from a significant leader in our world.

The question is, will it truly make a difference? Will it make any difference in Australia? I think not.

Our beloved prime minister has already gone on the record as saying that she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. He position is clear "My position flows from my strong conviction that the institution of marriage has come to have a particular meaning and standing in our culture and nation and that should continue unchanged,'' she wrote in an opinion piece published in Fairfax media in November 2011,

We all know our beloved opposition (soon to be PM) Tony Abbott stance on this issue. Perhaps, to some degree, Mr Obama's stance put pressure on all Australia's political leaders, but does anyone really believe it will make any difference here in Australia?

Do you think Julia Gillard will suddenly wake up one morning and think, hmm Obama supports gay marriage, maybe so should I. How about I give Tony a call and lets discuss it over dinner ? 😉

Seriously though, I for one don't think Obama's comments will have any lasting effect on Australian Politics and should it? Should Obama's comments make a difference to Australia? Julia has made it clear that regardless of Mr Obama's stance, her's remains the same and that the stance she will take to the next election. Oh well, I guess we can just keep hoping and praying.

Hi Ann Maree,

yes, we might end up with another PM apart from those 2 who has other views. Perhaps, the Labour Govt. may decide to bring back Kevin Rudd as leader, now wouldn't that be ironic especially, if he was to lead them to winning the next election. But I doubt that will happen, hypothetically speaking, if Rudd was to return, what do think his position would be on the whole same-sex marriage thing? What about John Robertson who has been touted as a possible alternative PM if Julia Gillard continues to drop in the polls. I wonder what his views would be. On the other side, perhaps malcolm turnbull may find the … to re challenge Tony Abbott for the leadership and he could end up being the Next PM. I suspect he would be in favour for same-sex marriage, what do you think?

Turnbull is pro-LGBTI. I sat in front of him and his wife in the stand at Mardi Gras one time. If you mean John Robertson, current opposition leader in NSW, he has a gay son so is definitely pro-LGBTI.

The significance of Obama's gesture is that it will strengthen the pro-gay lobby in USA and embolden their efforts for change. All the surveys in both USA and Australia show a gradual increase in the % of both populations who are becoming pro-LGBTI. In both cases, it is particularly younger people who have, or are, changing. Latest figures from USA I have seen shows that the rate of change is actually increasing year-by-year.

Also, whilst the anti-LGBTI lobby is loud, it is relatively small. Especially in the case of loud fundamentalist anti-LGBTI Christians, there is some evidence starting to appear that they (via their hateful pronouncements) are actually now turning people away – both from their brand of Christianity to more loving strands, and (sadly in some cases) from faith altogether.