Obama Says He Won’t Force Churches to Hold Gay Weddings

President Obama praised today’s Supreme Court’s decision to strike down certain provisions in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The court also overturned Prop 8 allowing gays to marry in California. In its decision, the court cleared the way for states that allow gay marriage to pay federal benefits to married gay couples. But 36 states still ban gay marriage and those states will not be affected by today’s supreme court ruling. In a statement following the court’s ruling, Obama said he would not force religious institutions to hold gay weddings.

President Obama, in his statement hailing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, promised that he wouldn’t try to force religious institutions to conduct gay marriages. 

 “On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital,” Obama said. “How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions. Nothing about this decision — which applies only to civil marriages — changes that.”

 After the SCOTUS announced its decision this morning, an Obama aide updated Obama’s official Twitter page tweeted an image of the Supreme Court awash in colors of the rainbow along with the text: “DOMA & Proposition 8 are history! #LoveIsLove”. The caption read: “Retweet if you believe everyone should be able to marry the person they love.”