Mitt Romney Counters Obama’s Marriage Statement, Reaffirms He Opposes Same-Sex Unions

As many had expected was already true, President Barack Obama “came out of the closet,” so to speak, on the subject of gay marriage today after North Carolina’s embarrassing passage of the anti-homosexual Amendment One- but presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney had no such changes of heart, and has gone on to reaffirm his opposition to same-sex unions.

Almost amusingly- almost- Fox News briefly ran the headline “Obama Flip Flops, Declares War on Marriage,” before someone at the propaganda outfit probably realized that the post counters their assertion that the “war on women” was “ginned up” and the news outlet was forced to revise the copy slightly. But it’s clear America is nearly cracking down the center on the issue of gay marriage, and it is likely again to factor largely into the battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for the White House in November.

It’s definitely clear that Obama took a giant political risk today in affirming to Americans what many of us already expected, and Romney’s counter statement, too, is no surprise. Referring to Obama’s statement earlier today, Romney was just as explicit in his rebuttal at a campaign stop in Oklahoma- but the presumptive Republican contender also framed his position as “consistent,” keeping with the “flip flop” narrative being lobbed at the Commander-in-Chief:

“I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor,” Romney said. “I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman… This is a very tender and sensitive topic, as are many social issues, but I have the same view that I’ve had since running for office.”

Romney then was queried about Obama’s consistency, to which he replied:

“I believe that based upon the interview that he gave today, he had changed his view, but you’re a better judge of that than I.”

After Mitt Romney’s statement, RNC chair Reince Priebus followed up with an official party line on gay marriage:

“While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear. We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that.”

It will be interesting to see how the issue of gay marriage continues to influence the respective campaigns of both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama contrasted with the controversy’s effect on earlier presidential elections.