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Obama Statement on Vote Against Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington Contact: Tommy Vietor or Robert Gibbs, (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-3506
Date: June 7, 2006

Obama Statement on Vote Against Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement outlining the reasons for his vote against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage:

"This debate is a thinly-veiled attempt to break a consensus that is quietly being forged in this country. A consensus between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Red States and Blue States, that it's time for new leadership in this country - leadership that will stop dividing us, stop disappointing us, and start addressing the problems facing most Americans.

"I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also agree with most Americans, including Vice President Cheney and over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been."