When pressed about whether members of his administration were “boxing in” President Obama on gay marriage, White House spokesman Jay Carney said today that he didn’t have an update on the evolution of the president’s views on the issue.
Over the past couple of days, both Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have gone on the record in favor of gay marriage.
“I have no update on the president’s personal views,” Carney said at the daily press briefing. “What the vice president said yesterday was to make the same point that the president has made previously, that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans, and that we oppose any effort to roll back those rights. That’s why this administration opposes the Defense of Marriage Act and supports legislation to repeal it. The administration also has stopped defending the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in legal challenges.”
He added that Duncan was offering his personal views when asked, and said “we respect the right of all people to have an opinion — a personal opinion.”
Carney was asked whether Obama would give an answer to that question in the same way Duncan did.
“I think the president is the right person to describe his own personal views,” Carney said. “He, as you know, said that his views on this were evolving, and I don’t have an update for you on that.”
“I think the vice president expressed his personal views,” the spokesman later added. “He also said he was evolving on the issue.”
“He did not say that, Jay,” a reporter countered.
“He did,” Carney retorted.
“No,” the reporter responded. “His spokesperson said that afterwards.”
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