Some fifteen years ago in 1996 when he was running for the Senate, Barack Obama wrote:

I favor legalizing same-​sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages

President Obama has said that his stance on same-sex marriage is "evolving." But honestly, it looks to me like it's going backwards; he was more supportive fifteen years ago than he is now. Last May President Obama said:

committed gay couples should have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.

Please notice that specific distinction that President Obama makes: "committed gay couples" vs "any married couple." There's a very strong underlying assumption that same-sex couples are not as "committed" as heterosexual couples, you know, the ones that have given the U. S. a divorce rate of 41% for a first marriage.

Why does he need the word "committed"? That tells you exactly what his operating assumptions are; he sees same-sex marriage as different. I expect if he's re-elected President Obama will propose some form of federal same-sex civil unions, using phrases like "separate but equal."

Part of me is frustrated, and angry; but I also realize that for millennia couples have known they were married to each other long before marriage was a religious sacrament (a fairly recent historic event, frankly) and without the involvement of the church. Marriage was largely a contractual agreement, and legally, it still is a contract. The legal and financial benefits conferred by federal law on heterosexual couples should be conferred on same-sex couples. Right now, same-sex couples are paying for benefits that we do not receive despite paying for them via taxes and payroll deductions.