At a press conference today to announce that Miss California would not lose her crown, both Donald Trump and Carrie Prejean said the beauty queen's position on same-sex marriage is the same as President Obama's.
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Obama and Miss California aligned on same-sex marriage?
By Jimmy Orr | 05.12.09
If President Obama’s position on gay marriage is shifting, someone better tell White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
During the afternoon press briefing, ABC’s Jake Tapper remarked that President Obama “opposed same-sex marriage but supports giving same-sex couples the same rights as married couples.”
“With benefits,” Gibbs said without objecting to Tapper’s statement.
Same
Many say Obama’s position on same-sex marriage is the same as the one Miss California, Carrie Prejean, took a lot of heat for.
“I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman,” she said at the Miss USA pageant last month.
What’s the difference between her statement and the president’s? Nothing according to Prejean and impressario Donald Trump.
“It’s the same answer that the president of the United States gave,” Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday to announce Prejean would keep her title. “She gave an honorable answer. She gave an answer from her heart.”
Prejean concurred. “The president of the United States, the secretary of state, and many Americans agree with me in this belief,” she said.
Obama
If you look at past statements made by Obama, the positions do look similar. You can go back to this 2007 Chicago Tribune article:
“I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman,” he said.
2008 campaign
Or you can look at his comments made during the 2008 presidential campaign when asked by Saddleback church Pastor Rick Warren to define marriage.
“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman,” the future President said. “For me as a Christian, it is a sacred union. You know, God is in the mix.”
“I am not someone who supports same-sex marriage but I do believe in civil unions,” he later added.
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2. Kate | 05.12.09
Frankly, as much as I like Obama, I disagree with him on this issue. And to expect Dems to agree with their elected President on everything - to never question him - just because he is a Democrat (who won in a landslide, even) is just silly. Do Republicans agree with their elected officials on everything? Of course not.
Obama is not perfect, and justifying this particular view on marriage (using religion as a primary reason no less) by saying, “Well the President agrees with me, so you should, too,” is even more silly. Obama is using religion to defend his view, as is Carrie Prejean. The difference is Carrie has no say in policy (other than her vote in elections). The President clearly has a lot more power than Carrie but it is plain to see he is trying to avoid using it and leaving it up to the States because he doesn’t want to lose any popularity by throwing his religion around to influence policy.
At any rate, no, Obama should not get a free pass (and neither should Carrie).
3. M Caulfield | 05.12.09
An apple is an apple; an orange is an orange. Some people want to call an apple a banana — just like some people want to call a marriage a gay couple. Marriage is defined as the legal and spiritual union of a man and a woman. Therefore, gays cannot be married. Under the protection of the U.S. Constitution, however, they have a right to be recognized in a Civil Union — with all the rights, privilges and resonsibilities that married couples have. Not calling an apple a banana is the majority taking a stand for what they believe in morally. Allowing a Civil Union is the ethical majority recognizing that discrimination against gays is wrong. Prejean didn’t use any bigotted put-downs of gays. The truth is — liberals only want free speech (freedom of persecution and discrimination) only if the beliefs conform to their liberal agenda. If the beliefs happen to represent conservatives, then liberals try to use a back-ended Fairness Doctrine to silence them. Who then, are the real hypocrites?
4. Cornet Mustich | 05.13.09
It’s time. Kudos to New England, Iowa and DC.
Onward. Joe Mustich, Justice of the Peace,
Washington CT USA
5. ban | 05.13.09
3. M Caulfield | 05.12.09 -
“Under the protection of the U.S. Constitution, however, they have a right to be recognized in a Civil Union — with all the rights, privilges and resonsibilities that married couples have.”
Yea…because “separate but equal” has worked out so well for us in the past.
6. OIF_to_USC | 05.13.09
Good for Carrie Prejean. She was willing to give up her crown for her beliefs. Would Perez Hilton and most of the Hollywood elite have been so sacrificial? Ms. Prejean’s views on marriage are mirrored by the majority of Americans. The marriage of one man and one woman is the very cornerstone of Western society; that will never change regardless of any legislation drafted in the dark of night and without the consent of the people. Being gay is not a crime, but it is not normal either. Creating an abnormal marriage is not a marriage. Sadly, the administrative actions by four or five state governors, proposed hate crime legislation, and the proposed Fairness Doctrine in the Congress are all being timed for effect in hopes of creating an amendment to the U.S. Constitution for separate civil and criminal protections and separate economic benefits for gays.
7. Passenger | 05.13.09
I’m not a christian. So, does it mean I cannot marry anyone unless I’m christian???? I think marriage is marriage. Marriage is not religion. Should NOT be the part of religion!
8. FlexSF | 05.13.09
There are some differences between Obama, and Carrie Prejean’s positions on gay marriage.
1. Carrie prejean is nobody, and doesn’t have any power, or credentials.
2. Carrie Prejean is actively campaigning against gay marriage. She would go as far as imposing her restrictions through law.
3. Carrie Prejean is an absolutist, offensive, and very into herself.
These are tremendous differences.
9. Kate | 05.13.09
“The truth is — liberals only want free speech (freedom of persecution and discrimination) only if the beliefs conform to their liberal agenda. ”
The exact same thing can be said about conservatives. There are plenty of examples of both groups crying out “Freedom!” while trying to limit the very thing they are screaming about. People, of any party, are very hypocritical. It’s always, “Do as I say not as I do,” no matter what team you are on. Everyone has this, “I’m better than you and I am always right so my feelings must be more important,” mentality because we are in an individualistic culture. And with all the good that comes with that, there’s also plenty of problems. Problems like this one. You have several groups and none of them agree on anything except “freedom” and “freedom” is so vague that they can’t even agree on the definition of it.
But to be honest, no matter what you call a committed same sex partnership - no matter what legal rights and protections there are - there are religious & spiritual gay couples who are joined together in commitment ceremonies all the time. There are some churches that recognize their spiritual union, whether the government does or not. And whether you believe your particular brand of god accepts this is not relevent because they believe their particular brand of god does accept it. And we do have the freedom to interpret religion as we wish in this country so you can disagree with their beliefs all you want but it won’t change a thing.
10. Justin G. | 05.13.09
Okay, she gave her opinion that she does not support gay marriage, and she is pushing for the protection of traditional marriage, not the opposition of gay marriage.
I don’t support gay marriage, but I do support civil unions (which is what is legal in some states, NOT same-sex marriage like many think).
I have many friends that are gay, and they do not think that her response was bad at all. Her response was her honest thoughts and feelings, which is good.
Since everyone has their own opinions, others should respect that. Bashing her or others that have beliefs that are not exactly like others does not help the situation at all.
11. Lynn | 05.13.09
Why do people use others to justify their position? She needs to use Obamba, Clinton, her family, and other Americans to back her up? You should give good sound reasons for your position, not rely on others. She needs to explain how gays will hurt her potential marriage. And no, your religion has no place in government. Just because other people think this doesn’t make it right. Civil unions for gays would be ’separate, but equal’, which is unconstitutional.
Obama opposes a federal ban, opposed Prop 8, said it’s up to the states, and is for full rights. Carrie has yet to say any of these things, so they are on a differen page.
12. Social aware | 05.13.09
They may be but true Christians should not!
Governament should not tell churches what to do. In order for that to happen churches should not tell government what to do.
I am Catholic and I have never seen a priest forced to marry a divorcee, even with the divorce law active for decades.
We need to understand the difference in religious and civil marriage.
I may not believe in religious gay marriage, but interfering on the governament decision on the validity of civil marriage is imposing my religious views upon others.’That is what the Taliban does!
We christians condemned Muslins who did not denounce their extremists allowing their religion to be distorted.
Well we Christians are doing the same. We are allowing a minority of right wing extremists to take posetion of our religion. When we, moderates, don’t stand against it, just as the moderate muslins of today, we allow our religion to be distorted.
Baptists were the leaders of the separation of Church and State. Please bring it back.
When a church associates with governament it only loses its purity.
13. seattleguy | 05.13.09
To say that she is pushing for the protection of traditional marriage not the opposition of gay marriage is merely just changing the words to make it sound like she is not opposing gay marriage.
I have yet to hear a reasonable answer as to why traditional marriage “needs to be protected”.
Gay marriage has been legal in Denmark since 1989…nearly 20 years! The marriage rates in that country have risen since the passage of SSM legislation.
If there was language in a national SSM bill to guarantee that no religion would be required to perform or validate a SSM would you religious nut bags still have a problem?
14. Carla | 05.13.09
I agree Passenger.
To me, this is not even bigotry against gay rights anymore.
It’s discrimination against anyone who is not a Christian.
I’m sorry but it sure feels that way. I honestly see people constantly equating being American with being Christian, while being anything else or nonreligious at all, as being among the worst heathens who deserve no rights. For the love of everything you may or may not believe in, stop thumping the Bible at those who simply don’t believe. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN be an American and be non-religious.
15. Tony | 05.13.09
No, they are not “aligned.” Miss Beauty Queen pretty obviously is anti-gay in general. Obama is 100% behind full equality for gays. Couldn’t be much fartehr apart.
I think most of us know Obama’s stance against marriage specifically is a technical difference that he had to take if he wanted to get elected. As the country evolves on the issue, so will he.
16. just saying | 05.13.09
And to think, if Perez had not asked that question, who knows what mindless gossip would be filling up this pointless time. Too much time spent on nothing
17. Elizabeth | 05.13.09
I would have been horrified if Miss California had won the title and not because she “spoke from the heart”, but because she could not coherently deliver an answer! Kudos to you who were able to translate her answer to resemble Obama’s stand on gay marriage. I could not make sense of her English.
“I am not someone who supports same-sex marriage but I do believe in civil unions,” - Obama (This is a coherent statement.)
“I think I believe…” “Opposite marriage…” ? What?????
18. Bill | 05.13.09
Flex SF, could you give a little more details on this?
There are some differences between Obama, and Carrie Prejean’s positions on gay marriage.
1. Carrie prejean is nobody, and doesn’t have any power, or credentials.
What does this have to do with anything? This statement supports Carrie because her position matches the most power person in the world.
2. Carrie Prejean is actively campaigning against gay marriage. She would go as far as imposing her restrictions through law.
Carrie doesn’t want to change the law. It’s only people in favor of gay marriage that want to change the law.
3. Carrie Prejean is an absolutist, offensive, and very into herself.
I think you just described the President. I think it was very offensive to laugh about a 9-11 joke at the Press Dinner this week. Very inappropriate for a President.
19. Chip Rosenthal | 05.13.09
Hey, folks! Let’s be real. The GLBT Community is no threat to anything except your personal views of Christianity. As A Christian (Homosexual) I don’t understand how my marriage to another man threatens your marriages. We love equally, we are productive members of society (equally) and we have the same rights everyone else has (equally). We’re not asking every church body to perform marriages for the GLBT Community. We are, however, asking for true equality in this society. Separate but equal? That didn’t work. Prohibition? Hmm..that didn’t work either. This is the 21st century. It’s time to separate church and state once and for all.
20. MikeR | 05.13.09
Chip you are asking for more. You are asking that we agree with you. You are asking that we ACCEPT your lifestyle when we feel it is wrong. You do not want tolerance, you want Acceptance. If all you wanted was tolerance you would already have it.
The GLBT community is not happy with conservative right wing people being tolerant, they want us to accept and agree with what they say and do. WE DO NOT. Our disagreeing with the lifestyle choices, for whatever reason, is also protected by the Constitution. At no point will you be able to say we cannot think the way we choose to think without removing anything resembling a free society from this country.
My religious belief does not have to be pushed on you, as long as you do not deny me the ability to have my religious belief by ostracizing me for having it in the first place. That question was appropriate for the pageant. Paris’s reaction was utterly inappropriate. He needed to be removed from the table and his votes stricken from the competition. He is a bigot of the worst sort and spouted hatred on this issue from the outset. He was and is a part of the problem not Ms. California.
21. Danielle | 05.13.09
Chip…
could not have said it better myself. I am a christian (homosexual) and 2009 is the year. 5 states down. We just gotta get people to understand. We just want the same rights as everyone else. No one is hurting by allowing equal rights. Get over it and just get used to the fact that we are rising up. we as in (gay christians).
22. Lisanne Anderson | 05.13.09
When beauty pageants become podiums for speech that offends by its utterance a significant number of people then said pageant becomes tainted. The proper response should have been to acknowledge the inappropriateness of the question, not justify the answer.
23. danny kwon | 05.14.09
Carrie Prejean’s opinion means nothing and she has no political influence yet she is criticized and put down for her answer. Obama’s opinion, on the other hand, has tremendous political influence yet he’s not criticized for his opinion. I don’t get it… since when did an entertainment vehicle (pageants) become so important? Good for Trump to keep it all in perspective. Ms. Prejean may be a slutbag and hypocritical but give me a break… this is a pageant. Who cares what she thinks?
24. Tallmon | 05.14.09
In response to another comment: “Carrie Prejean is actively campaigning against gay marriage. She would go as far as imposing her restrictions through law.”
Bill @18 wrote:
“Carrie doesn’t want to change the law. It’s only people in favor of gay marriage that want to change the law.”
But changing the law to allow same-sex civil marriage isn’t imposing same-sex civil marriage on anyone who doesn’t want it. Just because same-sex civil marriage is made legal doesn’t mean anyone MUST “approve” of, or “believe” in, it.
25. tallmon | 05.14.09
Mike R wrote “Chip you are asking for more. You are asking that we agree with you. You are asking that we ACCEPT your lifestyle when we feel it is wrong.”
No, Mike, that’s not true. I want to be able to marry my partner of 10 years. I don’t care if you “accept” it or not. I just want to have the legal, financial, etc. benefits of it. Just because same sex-marriage is legal, you personally do not need to “accept” it. However, people voting to prevent me from having it, IS forcing me to “accept” that position.
Please, do you you see the distinction?
Similarly, I don’t necessarily “approve” of guns. But I do realize there are laws allowing people to own them.
26. tallmon | 05.14.09
oh… and for the record… as a gay man, I did NOT approve of Perez’s response of calling her names. I feel she is entitled to her opinion and beliefs. All I ask is for those opinions and beliefs not to be forced upon me (by denying me the right to civil marriage with my partner of 10 years).
27. you | 05.15.09
not allowing a man to marry a man is a violation of freedom of expression and freedom of speech as well as gender discrimination as pointed out by the iowa supreme ct! grow up america is all I have to say! the majority of americans no think gay marriage should be legal!!
29. faith | 05.16.09
Over 2000 years of tradition is now outrageous? What is outrageous is the attempts to redefine the religous definition of marriage. Polls do not define what is right and wrong. God’s definitions are not a popularity issue.
The defining of religious viewpoints as phobic is nonsense from a group with no standing in truth. God is not mocked and all shall bend their knee to Him on that day in acknowledgement Jesus is God.
Let the various assaults begin now.
30. freedom | 05.17.09
what “HEAT” does one have to face to “stand up for man-woman marriage?” That’s the politically correct stand. Its the supporters of gay rights that have to take the “HEAT!”
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. sage | 05.12.09
Good for Obama.. But ms.California had to go through a lot of unfair things just because she spoke her mind. and that Perez Hilton. i think he is a low-life. But i guess that goes with his job of Gossip. how sad.