Obama encourages votes for marriage equality on Nov. 6

President Barack Obama on Oct. 25 encouraged voters to support the freedom to marry when they cast their ballots in Maine, Maryland and Washington. In all three states, voters will decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage.

In Minnesota, voters will decide whether to amend their state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The president already has spoken against that proposal.

Responding, Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said, “President Obama continues to be a transformational leader for LGBT equality.”

He added, “In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington, we enter the final two weeks of this hard-fought campaign knowing that the president of the United States joins our entire community in supporting their efforts to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect.”

Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry said, “Today President Obama added a strong and personal ‘I do’ to voters still making up their minds on whether to support the freedom to marry in Maine, Maryland, and Washington this election, and Freedom to Marry applauds the president’s moral leadership in standing up for families, fairness, and freedom.

Wolfson continued, “As the president said in May, ‘Same-sex couples should be able to get married … when we think about our faith, it’s also the golden rule.’ The right thing to do on these ballot-measures is to vote to treat others just as you would want to be treated – and let loving and committed couples share in the freedom to marry.”